{"title":"Stephen Smith","description":"\u003cp\u003eStephen Smith crafts gripping narratives that traverse the realms of \u003cem\u003eCrime \u0026amp; Thriller\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003ePolitics \u0026amp; Current Affairs\u003c\/em\u003e. His works, like \u003cstrong\u003eThe Boy in the Cellar\u003c\/strong\u003e, immerse readers in tense, atmospheric stories charged with intrigue and human complexity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn titles such as \u003cstrong\u003eThe Scramble for Europe\u003c\/strong\u003e, Smith offers incisive explorations of political landscapes and contemporary issues, blending meticulous research with compelling storytelling. Readers can expect sharp insights intertwined with captivating plots.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-boy-in-the-cellar-by-stephen-smith-9781789461756","title":"The Boy in the Cellar","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStephen Smith is the boy who did not exist. Born out of wedlock in the early 1960s, Steve’s parents—both devout Catholics—felt so 'shamed' by their son's illegitimate birth that they hid him away from the world by locking him in the cellar...for thirteen years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eApart from a few admissions to hospital as a result of his 'imprisonment', Steve remained in the coal cellar of the family home where he was deprived of daylight, his childhood, school, and human contact until he reached his teenage years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eStarved and beaten, the little boy's world was a darkened room that measured just eight feet by ten, with a single makeshift bed, bare light bulb, and a solitary table. Steve would spend his days conjuring up an imaginary world full of monsters he would draw to try and block out the physical and mental torture inflicted on him by his brutal father. Locked away like an animal with a bucket to urinate and defecate in, the only human contact he received was from his father, who would regularly beat him with a shovel and whip him with a belt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEventually, he escaped, only to fall prey to the instigators of two of the worst cases of institutional abuse in the UK at Aston Hall hospital and St. William's Catholic School.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Boy in the Cellar\u003c\/em\u003e is a horrifying true story of torture and cruelty that reveals a human's full capacity to fight for survival and search out happiness and hope.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47072694468844,"sku":"9781789461756","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/3060813482825.jpg?v=1765126620"},{"product_id":"the-scramble-for-europe-by-stephen-smith-9781509534579","title":"The Scramble for Europe","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the harrowing situation of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean in rubber dinghies to the crisis on the US-Mexico border, mass migration is one of the most urgent issues facing our societies today. At the same time, viable solutions seem ever more remote, with the increasing polarisation of public attitudes and political positions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Scramble for Europe\u003c\/em\u003e, Stephen Smith focuses on ‘young Africa’—40 per cent of its population are under fifteen—and a dramatic demographic shift. Today, 510 million people live inside EU borders, and 1.25 billion people in Africa. In 2050, 450 million Europeans will face 2.5 billion Africans—five times their number. The demographics are implacable. The scramble for Europe will become as inexorable as the ‘scramble for Africa’ was at the end of the nineteenth century, when 275 million people lived north and only 100 million lived south of the Mediterranean. Then it was all about raw materials and national pride, now it is about young Africans seeking a better life on the Old Continent, the island of prosperity within their reach.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIf Africa’s migratory patterns follow the historic precedents set by other less developed parts of the world, in thirty years a quarter of Europe’s population will be Afro-Europeans. Addressing the question of how Europe can cope with an influx of this magnitude, Smith argues for a path between the two extremes of today’s debate. He advocates migratory policies of ‘good neighbourhood’ equidistant from guilt-ridden self-denial and nativist egoism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis sobering analysis of the migration challenges we now face will be essential reading for anyone concerned with the great social and political questions of our time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47433032958188,"sku":"9781509534579","price":37.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781509534579.jpg?v=1774765729"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/stephen-smith.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}