Joan Bakewell
The Vies From Here: Life at Seventy

The View from Here is inspired by Joan Bakewell's much-loved Guardian newspaper column,`Just 70'. From applying eyeshadow without glasses and learning how to use an iPod, to dreading the obituary pages for fear of finding a friend among them, The View from Here considers with wisdom and warmth the physical, social and psychological consequences of ageing. Joan Bakewell also returns to such issues as the nature of faith, what it means to be British and how we engage politically with the world around us. Her wonderful book combines personal history with cultural commentary to provide one of the most disarming and up-to-date accounts yet published of life as an older person.

Liz Hoggard
How to be Happy

Social scientists agree that it isn't success at work, pots of money, power or fame that guarantee a happy life, but the simpler pleasures: family, community, sex with someone you love, pleasant surroundings, trust in fellow human beings or a less stressful commute to work. Research increasingly suggests that happiness is a `skill' that can be learned, and although there is no universal, one-fits-all solution for happiness, there is a lot you can do to raise your capacity for joy. How to Be Happy explains the theory behind the `science of happiness', which combines the latest research in psychology, medicine and social science. The ground-breaking Making Slough Happy TV series puts the theory into practice and, using questionnaires, exercises and a workable 10-point Happiness Manifesto from the series, How to Be Happy will help you improve your levels of happiness in just a few weeks.

Veteran broadcaster Terry Wogan, or 'Sir Terry' as he insists on his family calling him, knows very well that `veteran' is a euphemism for 'clapped out', and he'd be just as pleased if you'd pack it in. This well preserved husk of a man would like you to know that people don't confuse him with George Clooney for nothing,and that he can still walk eighteen holes virtually unaided. This book is choked with reminiscence. There's plenty here to delight lovers of racy tales of maiden aunts and his Da's beret, but precious little to titillate or scandalise. Instead, you will thrill to tales of TOGS and TWITS, Wealdstone Wonderboys, the Northolt Swimerama and Janet and John. By the time you've finished, drained of all emotion by his relentless meandering, you'll agree with all thinking viewers, listeners and readers: he should never have left the bank...

Terry Wogan's television credits include his chat show series 'Wogan', 'The Eurovision Song Contest', 'Come Dancing', 'Blankety Blank' and 'Children in Need'. His Radio 2 programme, 'Wake Up To Wogan', is the most listened to breakfast show in the UK.