In Full Flower is a compilation of a new wave in contemporary floral design featuring artists who combine traditional techniques with an organic free-form back-to-nature style The opposite of buttoned-up & manicured arrangements this survey

Includes:: over twenty of the most celebrated & influential artists across the United States who are rewriting the rules of floral design Gorgeous photographs depict the artists process as well as final designs captured both as still life s & environments In addition the wanderlust-inducing gardens & inspired interiors exhibit both rustic & urban eco-chic simple luxury living embodied by these artists that all homeowners will appreciate With over 300 original colour images & short writing on each artists inspirations & philosophies this spectacularly inspiring floral survey will be treasured by lovers of beautiful flowers & interiors alike

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In just over a hundred years-from the death of Muhammad in 632 to the beginning of the Abbasid Caliphate in 750-the followers of the Prophet swept across the whole of the Middle East North Africa & Spain Their armies threatened states as far afield as the Franks in Western Europe & the Tang Empire in China The conquered territory was larger than the Roman Empire at its greatest expansion & it was claimed for the Arabs in roughly half the time How this collection of Arabian tribes was able to engulf so many empires states & armies in such a short period of time is a question that has perplexed historians for centuries Most recent popular accounts have been based almost solely on the early Muslim sources which were composed centuries later for the purpose of demonstrating that God had chosen the Arabs as his vehicle for spreading Islam throughout the world In this ground-breaking new history distinguished Middle East expert Robert G Hoyland assimilates not only the rich biographical & geographical information of the early Muslim sources but also the many non-Arabic sources contemporaneous or near-contemporaneous with the conquests The story of the conquests traditionally begins with the revelation of Islam to Muhammad In God's Path however begins with a broad picture of the Late Antique world prior to the Prophet's arrival a world dominated by the two superpowers of Byzantium & Sasanian Persia the two eyes of the world In between these empires in western (Saudi) Arabia emerged a distinct Arab identity which helped weld its members into a formidable fighting force The Arabs are the principal actors in this drama yet as Hoyland shows the peoples along the edges of Byzantium & Persia-the Khazars Bulgars Avars & Turks-also played important roles in the remaking of the old world order The new faith propagated by Muhammad & his successors made it possible for many of the conquered peoples to join the Arabs in creating the first Islamic Empire Well-paced & accessible In God's Path presents a pioneering new narrative of one the great transformational periods in all of history ...

Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play In his previous effort & About A Boy& writer-director Paul Weitz managed to smoothly blend elements of dark comedy with heart-warming drama to deftly undercut both of the genre&s undesirable excesses & In Good Company& is Weitz&s solo directorial debut sans his brother Chris with whom he co-helmed the aforementioned film & the wildly successful & American Pie& series Here he perfects his gift for the so-called "dramedy" softening the jagged sometimes ugly edges of corporate satire with warmth & sentiment Dennis Quaid is perfectly cast as Dan Foreman a slightly weary yet still dashing advertising boss & dedicated family man He seems to have it all as a wholesome & admirable father an existence which smacks of the archetypical mid-century sitcom dad that he so brilliantly portrayed as the secretly homosexual husb&-father in Todd Haynes& & Far From Heaven& Enter Carter Duryea (Topher Grace) a cocky young upstart hired to replace him Before long Dan is forced to be deferential to his new baby-faced boss not only in the office but also at his own dinner table when Dan begins dating his lovely daughter Alex (Scarlett Johanssen) This old-fashioned slightly soap-operatic twist is the perfect catalyst for the integration of humanity into an environment (and cinematic genre) that is so often devoid of it & the film simultaneously lightens in spirit & deepens in emotion as a slow-yet-sure father-&-son bond develops between the former adversaries ...

The future flashed before my eyes in all its pre-ordained banality Embarrassment at first to the exclusion of all other feelings But embarrassment curled at the edges with a weariness I got a joke in So
- we'd better get cooking the meth' I said to the Poet In August 2014 Jenny Diski was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer & given two or three years' to live She didn't know how to react All responses felt scripted laden with cliche Being a writer she decided to write about it (grappling with the unoriginality even of this) & also to tell a story she has not yet told that of being taken in aged fifteen by the author Doris Lessing & the subsequent fifty years of their complex relationship In September 2014 Jenny Diski began writing in the London Review of Books describing her experience of living with terminal cancer examining her life & history with Doris Lessing the fairy-tale rescue from the bin' as a teenager the difficulties of being absorbed into an unfamiliar family & the influence this had on her Swooping from one memory to the next
- alighting on the hysterical battlefield of her parental home her expulsion from school stacking shelves in Banbury & the drug-taking twenty-something in & out of psychiatric hospitals Diski paints a portrait of two extraordinary writers
- Lessing & herself From one of our most original voices comes a book like no other a cerebral witty dazzlingly candid masterpiece about an uneasy relationship; about memory & writing ingratitude & anger; about living with illness & facing death


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' One of the most inventive original & disturbing writers of her generation' Daily Telegraph In August 2014 Jenny Diski was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer & given two or three years' to live Being a writer she decided to write about her experience
- & to tell a story she had not yet told that of being taken in aged fifteen by the author Doris Lessing & the subsequent fifty years of their complex relationship Splicing childhood memories with present-day realities Diski paints an unflinching portrait of two extraordinary writers
- Lessing & herself Jenny Diski died a week after the publication of In Gratitude A cerebral witty dazzlingly candid memoir it is her final masterpiece

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Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 or region free DVD player in order to play In Her Shoes Comedy drama about two sisters with nothing in common but size 8 & a half feet Maggie (Cameron Diaz) & Rose (Toni Collette) Feller are both best friends & polar opposites when it comes to values goals & personal style Maggie is a party girl who barely graduated from high school recycles jobs as quickly as yesterday&s newspapers & believes her biggest asset is her attractiveness to the opposite sex Her recurring state of unemployment leaves her virtually homeless as she bounces between the sofas of her friends & relatives With no confidence in her intellectual ability she prizes makeup over books & has an innate talent for choosing the perfect accessories & clothes for any occasion Rose (Toni Collette) is a Princeton educated attorney at a top law firm in Philadelphia Her beautifully decorated prewar apartment is her haven from the outside world With her nose perpetually to the grindstone she struggles constantly with her weight & never feels comfortable in the clothes she wears Her low self esteem regarding her physical appearance has left her dating life non-existent Rose&s one joy in life is shoes (because they always fit) but unfortunately she has few social opportunities to remove them from her closet After a calamitous falling out the two sisters travel a bumpy road toward true appreciation for one another
- aided along the way by the discovery of Ella (Shirley Mac Laine) the maternal grandmother they thought was dead Through their reconnection with their grandmother Maggie & Rose learn how to make peace with themselves & with each other Devil Wears Parada Comedy based on the novel by Lauren Weisberger Andrea (Anne Hathaway) is a bright young woman from the Midwest who has just graduated from college & wants to work as a magazine writer She has applied for a job at & Runway& America&s most prestigious fashion journal Andy has little interest in the garment trade but it is one of the only magazines in New York with a job opening
- second assistant to editor Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) As Andy discovers Miranda is a diva with plenty of power in the magazine business & she isn&t afraid to use that power Though Andy lands the job she soon learns that working for Miranda could test the patience of a saint thanks to her endless demands & refusal to acknowledge the end of a work day Andy struggles to hold on to the job & her sanity knowing that a recommendation from Miranda can open nearly any door at any magazine
- but can she handle the pressure without losing her mind along the way?


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Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play Friends Rivals Sisters Flirty flaky party girl Maggie (Diaz) & plain dependable lawyer Rose (Collette) are sisters best friends & bitter rivals who seem to have only two things in common DNA & size 8 feet Only when their love-hate relationship veers towards the hate end of the spectrum do they accidentally discover they also share a long-lost grandmother (Mac Laine) who enriches their lives & helps them make peace with each other
- & themselves! Adapted for the screen by Oscar-winning writer Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich) from Jennifer Weiner&s bestselling novel
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A tragic family event reveals devastating news that rips apart Bella's comfortable existence Embarking on a personal journey to uncover the truth she faces a series of traumatic discoveries that take her to the ruggedly beautiful Cornish coast where hidden truths past betrayals & a 25-year-old mystery threaten not just her identity but her life Chilling complex & profoundly moving In Her Wake is a gripping psychological thriller that questions the nature of family
- & reminds us that sometimes the most shocking crimes are committed closest to home
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Danielle Steel proves she is the world's favourite storyteller in In His Father's Footsteps a deeply moving novel about love understanding & family set in post-Second World War New York 336 pages Steel Danielle ...

Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 or region free DVD player in order to play James Coburn reprises his role as the multi-talented multi-gadgeted spy Derek Flint (from the 1965 film & Our Man Flint) in another James Bond spoof This time round he is up against a gang of women who aim to take over the world by kidnapping astronauts & putting doubles in their place so that they can gain control of all the missile sites around the world ...