Books by Tim Coates

"(In the field of public libraries) The virtue of private reading is rarely proclaimed. Most reading is not, in itself, a community activity but the contribution to communities from people who read is immense. That point is not often made, yet it is, and always has been, the single greatest value of public libraries. They help people to find what they enjoy reading. That is the way they benefit society." -- from pg. 5

The British Army has rarely experienced a defeat of the kind that occurred in Afghanistan in January 1842. Provided here are extracts from the official government account of events between October 1841 and January 1842, along with excerpts from the diaries of Lieutenant Vincent Eyre and Lady Florentia Sale, both of whom were finally released in September 1842 - after eight months of being moved around the region in fear of their lives.

Tim Coates tells the story of the English sea-side fishermen's town that became the home of Benjamin Britten's Music festival.