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St Helens was a giant of the Industrial Revolution, transforming itself through invention and innovation to become a leading voice around the world. It grew from four rural townships Eccleston, Parr, Sutton and Windle to become a municipal borough in 1868 and a centre for industries such as glassmaking, coal mining and copper smelting. The towns industrial heritage is echoed through the towns buildings such as Cannington Shaw and the Crown Glass Works and the Beechams Building, which was the first factory in the world built to manufacture medicines. St Helens was also located on the first canal built in Britain in the Industrial Revolution the Sankey Canal and the pioneering Liverpool to Manchester passenger railway, of which one of the oldest passenger railway stations in the world is located at St Helens Junction. Venues such as the Hippodrome which played host to Charlie Chaplin and George Formby entertained the rapidly growing population, and St Helens story continues today with the opening of the sustainable Glass Futures plant in 2023. St Helens in 50 Buildings explores the history of this town in Merseyside through a selection of its most interesting buildings and structures, showing the changes that have taken place over the years. The book will appeal to all those who live in St Helens or who have an interest in the area. Autorid: Sue Gerrard

The story of how David Bowie's search for meaning inspired him to write the music that defined a generation.In this wide-ranging biography, Peter Ormerod explores the quest for spirituality that powered David Bowie's creativity from his earliest recordings to his death-defying final album. Bowie's genre-expanding, era-crossing genius had an extraordinary impact on popular culture but his life-long search for spiritual truth and enlightenment has been overlooked.From Bowie's first musical encounters as a choirboy, this book traces his spiritual obsessions over the years. As a young musician at the start of his career, he was enraptured by Tibetan Buddhism. It was the first step in a spiritual journey that would generate his most profound lyrics and music. From the Kabbalah-influenced tracks of Station to Station to Ziggy Stardust's messiah complex and the profound affinity between Heroes and Christian thought, Ormerod sheds new light on the spiritual traditions behind Bowie's genius. Taking Bowie's spiritual explorations and faith seriously, Ormerod shows us how this quest for meaning propelled him through his darkest moments and biggest successes, lending his music a timelessness and depth that has spoken to so many people across the world. Whether experiencing a dark night of the soul in LA during his occult phase or reciting the Lord's prayer in front of thousands of concertgoers, Bowie was always searching for that universal truth that lies beyond everyday reality.