Paul Woods

It's long been an accepted, almost celebrated, fact of the creative industries that long hours, chaotic workflows, and egotistical colleagues are just the price you pay to produce great work. In fact, this toxic culture is the enemy of creativity, and with greater accountability and transparency in the industry?—?and more choice for young talent?—?than ever before, this unsustainable way of doing business is a ticking time bomb. This is a straight-talking, fun read for all creatives: Director or junior, at an agency or client-side, working in design, advertising, publishing, fashion, or film. Packed with anecdotes, self-analysis flowcharts (are YOU the asshole?!), exercises and action plans for better working practices. Simple strategies can easily be implemented to create a happier, more productive team and?—?importantly?—? BETTER WORK!.

How to Do Great Work Without Being an Asshole

This straight-talking, fun book is aimed at fresh graduates planning a career in the creative industries. It gives them the tools to identify and navigate the right path. Filled with practical tips and exercises, and illustrated with 'how to' flow charts and diagrams, it focuses not just on the creative skills needed for a successful and lucrative career but a great lifestyle too.

How to Succeed in the Creative Industry

Sh*t They Didn't Tell You

For three decades the Toronto Argonauts were a national joke: a team that not only lost most of the time, but usually did so in embarrassing fashion. The franchise bottomed out in 1981 with just two wins. But 1981 was not a complete disaster because, even while finding new and more creative ways to lose, the Argos were assembling many of the key components that helped the franchise return to excitement in 1982 and Grey Cup glory in 1983. Thirty years after that long-awaited triumph, Bouncing Back takes readers on a wild ride through the three eventful and mesmerizing years that culminated in the 1983 Grey Cup, from crushing humiliations through sensational resurgence and finally the ultimate triumph.

Bouncing Back: From National Joke to Grey Cup Champs

The extraordinary personal and professional journey of Scott Walker who went from golden-voiced sixties pop-singer to iconoclastic musical adventurer. Author Paul Woods examines how the celebrated vocal range and philosophical concerns of Noel Scott Engel - aka Scott Walker - continue to challenge the accepted territory and subject matter of popular music.

Scott: The Curious Life & Work of Scott Walker

'How to Do Great Work Without Being an Asshole, a new book by designer Paul Woods, is a practical, illustrated guide that does exactly what the title suggests: It shows you how to be both creative and act like a grown-up at work.' - Fast Company It's long been an accepted, almost celebrated, fact of the creative industries that long hours, chaotic workflows and egotistical colleagues are just the price you pay to produce great work. In fact, this toxic culture is the enemy of creativity, and with greater accountability and transparency in the industry - and more choice for young talent - than ever before, this unsustainable way of doing business is a ticking time bomb. This is a straight-talking, fun read for all creatives: Director or junior, at an agency or client-side, working in design, advertising, publishing, fashion or film. Packed with anecdotes, self-analysis flowcharts (are YOU the asshole?!), humorous graphics, and helpful exercises and action plans for better working practices. Simple strategies can easily be implemented to create a happier, more productive team and - importantly - BETTER WORK! Read this guide to develop the ultimate creative process and bring your productivity and teamwork to a new level. How to Do Great Work Without Being an Asshole addresses hot topics like:Building a better office cultureDealing with egosMeeting etiquetteBest practices for pitching and scopingMaking the most of creative briefingsHow to give constructive, clear feedbackGiving better presentations How to approach workloads and long hoursGuidelines for good client relationshipsHiring and being hiredFiring and being firedAnd much more!

This collection, by Paul Woods, explores the poetry of what life means to us in a surreal, often haunting landscape of emotion and reflection.

When You Can't See the Trees for the Wood

Martin Clarke

By bringing together all the most accomplished writing about Cobain and his phenomenally successful band, Nirvana, The Cobain Dossier provides a compelling examination of the true reasons for his untimely death. Packed with contributions from a host of renowned commentators, this collection provides a complete picture of Cobain the man, his dramatic influence on the rock landscape and the huge impact of his life and death on the grunge generation. The Cobain Dossier is a fitting memorial to the singer-songwriter who has been hailed as the first true rock n roll star of the nineties.

The Cobain Dossier

Kurt Cobain

One of the world's most versatile and engaging vehicles is celebrated in this Ludvigsen Library book. Conceived by Maurice Wilks of the Rover Motor Company as Britain's answer to the ubiquitous Jeep, the Land-Rover made its bow in 1948. In accord with Wilk's desires it was more versatile than the Jeep, making it the ideal farming and countryside vehicle - perhaps the first-ever sport-utility. An explosion of different body styles and wheelbase lengths soon enriched the range of this popular off-roader, as did diesel and even V-8 engines. The Series 2 version was introduced in 1958 and the Series 3 in 1971. Special forward-control and military versions only increased the range of tasks this amazing vehicle could accomplish. The original Land-Rover rolls on into the 21st Century, now styled as the Defender. Rare and original photos from the Ludvigsen Library and Marshall of Cambridge depict the evolution of this globe-girdling 4x4 over half a century, amplified by an introduction by ""Landie"" expert Paul Woods.

The Incomparable 4x4 from Series 1 to Defender

Land Rover

Gavin Baddeley

killer's true identity." "In Saucy Jack the authors follow the grim homicidal trails that have permeated popular culture since the Whitechapel murders of 1888, including: the stories of the victims; the evolution of the Ripper archetype; an analysis of the most often cited latter-day suspects for the crimes; the conspiracy theories; and the short stories, novels, films, comic books and even video games, all inspired by the murders of 1888. And finally, the modern forensic view of the Ripper murders as sex crimes, with reference to disturbing modern cases such as that of the 'Plumstead Ripper'." --Book Jacket.

The Elusive Ripper

Saucy Jack

Paul and Fanta met in Makeni in the north of Sierra Leone, fell in love and got married. Paul managed a project to improve the quality of English teaching in Sierra Leonean primary schools for the British Council, whilst Fanta over in neighbouring Guinea supervised the construction of their dream house by the sea. In the mid 90s, the house was seized by the wife of Guinean President Lansana Conte, who claimed she owned the place and installed Presidential Guards in it. By the time they got the house back several years later it had been completely trashed, so they sold it for what they could get and then took the President's wife to court a second time for damages. The story of how they struggled for many years to get justice is one of endurance and perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds.

A House for Fanta

Helen Blunden

Benjamin Elias

A book about Microsoft Teams specifically for Executives, Managers, and Team Leaders. Authored by Microsoft's 2018 Global Partner of the Year - Adopt & Embrace.

A Manager's Guide to Communication, Collaboration, and Coordination with Microsoft Teams

Adopt & Embrace Microsoft Teams

Year of the Rocket

Steve Edwards

This is the third of three text books, published in association with the Open University, which offer an innovatory exploration of art and visual culture. Through carefully chosen themes and topics rather than through a general survey, the volumes approach the process of looking at works of art in terms of their audiences, functions and cross-cultural contexts. While focused on painting, sculpture and architecture, it also explores a wide range of visual culture in a variety of media and methods. "1850-2010: Modernity to Globalisation" includes essays which engage directly with topical issues around art and gender, globalisation, cultural difference and curating, as well as explorations of key canonical artists and movements and of some less well-documented work of contemporary artists.

Art & Visual Culture 1850-2010: Modernity to Globalisation

Seit jeher gelten lange Arbeitszeiten, chaotische Arbeitsabläufe und egoistische Kollegen in der Kreativbranche als selbstverständlich. Offenbar meint man, sich solche Bedingungen im kreativen Bereich leisten zu können als wären sie geradezu eine Voraussetzung für grandiose Arbeitsleistungen. Tatsächlich ist eine derart vergiftete Unternehmenskultur der Feind jeder Kreativität. Paul Woods zeigt, wie sich diese Zeitbombe entschärfen lässt, in dem man eine Arbeitsatmosphäre schafft, von der alle profitieren. Ob Director oder Junior, ob Agentur- oder Kundenseite, in den Bereichen Design, Werbung, Verlagswesen, Mode oder Film in diesem Buch finden alle eine amüsant-unverblümte Lektüre voller Anekdoten und erhellender Flussdiagramme zur Selbstanalyse. Hinzu kommen vielen Übungen und Aktionspläne für bessere, d. h. produktivere Arbeitsweisen. All das zusammen ergibt eine verblüffend einfache Strategie, die sich leicht in den Arbeitsalltag integrieren lässt und zu dem Ergebnis führt, dass das Team glücklicher und produktiver und damit letztlich sogar noch erfolgreicher wird.

Wie kann man grandiose Arbeit leisten, ohne ein Arschloch zu sein?

Terrorism - the imposition of, or opposition to, government with the threat or fear of force - is mostly regarded as a modern horror, implemented by bombs, hijackings and assassinations. But the origins of terrorism occur far back in the Middle Ages, when the forefathers of the modern world's most uncompromising terrorists - al-Qaeda and the Palestinian suicide bombers, laid down their murderous creed. In the 11th Century, Europe was a region of feudal kingdoms at war, while the Middle East was much more pluralistic, placing less theological restrictions on the lives of individuals or the pursuit of knowledge. It was against this liberal environment that Pope Urban II launched his own version of a 'jihad' - a holy war against the decadent, unholy Islamic world. The reaction in the Islamic world was one of increasing fury, and we continue to reap its consequences centuries later. Islam would become increasingly militant as Muslim sects that preached intolerance and force gained ground. One such heretical sect was the Nizaris, a mystical order of warriors founded by a Persian named Hassan Bin Sabah, later known in the West as the Assassins. Hassan inspired fanatical loyalty in his followers and Assassin cultists were unafraid of capture and death. According to tales brought back to Europe by Marco Polo in 1295, the Old Man of the Mountains fed his followers with hashish before taking them to a secluded garden where they were indulged with forbidden pleasures - principally, the sexual favours of young women. On returning to normal consciousness, the Assassin was told he had experienced the heavenly garden of Paradise and would spend all eternity there, provided he lived in the service of the cult. Assassin cultists would therefore infiltrate enemy courts and army camps, reputedly remaining incognito for years, ready to commit murder upon their master's signal. It was the birth of strategic terrorism. In modern times the legend of the Assassins carries a more symbolic significance. Some intellectuals have drawn a parallel between Hassan Bin Sabah's maxim, "Nothing is true - everything is permissible", describing the dream-trance of the hashish eater, and the 1950s concept of "brainwashing": the belief in turning soldiers into sleeping assassins. Most chilling, however, is the Islamic fundamentalist belief in martyrdom through assassination. High on nothing but piety the suicide bombers, the followers of Osama Bin Laden, and the September 11th terrorists were promised that which their puritan creed denies them on earth - the sexual favours of "the 72 houris virgins] of heaven", as a reward for he who kills in the name of Allah. This illuminating study analyses the origins and history of terrorism, separating legend from truth to uncover the true roots of the fanatical terrorist acts the world has witnessed in the last decade. This will be essential reading for all historians, and for anyone who, up until now, may have thought that outrageous acts of terrorism causing untold civilian casualties, was a curse of the modern age.

The Medieval Roots of Terrorism

God's Assassins

Damo Suzuki

When the anarchic vocalist of Can left the celebrated German band in late 1973, the ensuing decade-long absence was taken by many to be the end of his personal story. But it was just the beginning. In I Am Damo Suzuki, Kenji Damo Suzuki and co-author Paul Woods illuminate a life in music driven by the principle of randomness. The book spans the influence of western music on Suzuki growing up in post-WWII Japan, his rejection of national traditions and a lifelong journey of exploration. After his hippie-influenced beginnings as a provocative street musician, Suzuki s story took an unlikely turn after a chance recruitment into Can, one of the most innovative bands of the seventies. A stint of family life and the role of Japanese salaryman preceded his return to the music world with The Damo Suzuki Band and later with Damo Suzuki s Network, an international vehicle for musical communication using sound instead of words. With contributions from family members, lifelong friends, musical collaborators and Damo s long-term partner, I Am Damo Suzuki is an absorbing portrait of a musical catalyst and enigmatic icon.

Paul Woods

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