Syria's Secret Library by Mike Thomson memoir We are living through the

We are living through the greatest communication revolution since Gutenberg in which falsehood regularly seems to overwhelm truth

and celebrate lives well-lived

Juicy plum tarte tatin in maple syrup and cinnamon under buttery puff pastry

The Impatient Pen is an anthology of a lifetime spent observing

The hardback versions present expanded stories for beginning readers

Syria's Secret Library by Mike Thomson memoir We are living through theDaraya lies on the fringe of Damascus, just south west of the Syrian Capital. Yet it lives in another world. Besieged by Syrian government forces since 2011, its people were deprived of food, bombarded by bombs and missiles, and shot at by snipers. Its buildings lay in ruins; office buildings, shops and family homes shattered by the constant shelling from government forces. But deep beneath this scene of frightening devastation lay a secret library.