Andrei Lankov has gone where few outsiders have ever been A native of the former Soviet Union he lived as an exchange student in North Korea in the 1980s He has studied it for his entire career using his fluency in Korean & personal contacts to build a rich nuanced understanding In The Real North Korea Lankov substitutes cold clear analysis for the overheated rhetoric surrounding this opaque police state After providing an accessible history of the nation he turns his focus to what North Korea is what its leadership thinks & how its people cope with living in such an oppressive & poor place He argues that North Korea is not irrational & nothing shows this better than its continuing survival against all odds A living political fossil it clings to existence in the face of limited resources & a zombie economy manipulating great powers despite its weakness Its leaders are not ideological zealots or madmen but perhaps the best practitioners of Machiavellian politics that can be found in the modern world Even though they preside over a failed state they have successfully used diplomacy-including nuclear threats-to extract support from other nations But while the people in charge have been ruthless & successful in holding on to power Lankov goes on to argue that this cannot continue forever since the old system is slowly falling apart In the long run with or without reform the regime is unsustainable Lankov contends that reforms if attempted will trigger a dramatic implosion of the regime They will not prolong its existence Based on vast expertise this book reveals how average North Koreans live how their leaders rule & how both survive ...

Stylish & dark the BBC series the ' Peaky Blinders' is set in the backstreets of Birmingham after the First World War & tells of the rise to power of Thomas Shelby & his criminal gang Yet the real stories behind these fictional characters are just as dramatic bloody & compelling as the TV series Thomas Shelby's arch enemy Billy Kimber was in real life a Brummie from Summer Lane He was a feared fighter with an astute mind & magnetic personality which earned him the leadership of the Birmingham Gang that dominated the highly profitable protection rackets of the racecourses of England The members of this gang had once been 'sloggers' or 'peaky blinders' & their rise to supremacy was attributable to their viciousness & to Kimber's shrewd alliances with other gangs But they soon incurred the envy of the Sabini Gang of London who fought violently to oust Kimber & his men & take over their rackets The Birmingham Gang battled back fiercely in the infamous & blood-stained racecourse wars of the 1920s This Birmingham Gang led by Billy Kimber were the Real Peaky Blinders & this is their story ...

Did you know a pigeon can fly faster than a car & farther than a small airplane? Or that they have something unusual in common with penguins flamingos & even the dodo? With his trademark mix of humor well-researched facts & artistry Kevin Mc Closkey delivers the straight poop on these humble creatures which turn out to becoo coo COOL! Kevin Mc Closkey who teaches illustration at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania learned about pigeons from Vinnie Torre one of Hoboken’s last pigeon racers He dedicated this book to his children even if his daughter is a little skittish on the subject since a flock of pigeons descended on the family during a visit to London’s Trafalgar Square He says he considered painting the pictures here on roofing material (because pigeons flock to roofs) but settled instead for painting on a pigeon-blue Fabriano paper the kind used by Picasso Meet the Author Kevin Mc Closkey Kevin Mc Closkey teaches illustration at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania ...

A down-to-earth introduction to Witchcraft that gives plenty of practical advice on becoming a wiccan Whether you want to join a group or work as a Solitary this is an invaluable guide to the wiccan lifestyle The chapters will include Myth & Reality
- what being a witch is all about how it compares with the Hollywood image What Witchcraft is
- the beliefs & practices Moon worship the elements Gods & Goddesses the cycles of death & rebirth The Sabbats & the Wheel of the Year Becoming a Witch
- what does it involve? Magic
- how it works & the responsibilites involved How to avoid potential danger Spellcraft
- how to help you pass exams attract partners improve family relationships Herbal work
- herbs for skin hair scents traditional recipes How to tell your family & how to make contact with groups & other teenage Wiccans





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A practical & inspiring A-Z guide to the world's most popular woods Many of the world's most beautiful & useful woods are in serious decline due to over-harvesting & environmental degradation The Real Wood Bible gives the current sustainability status of these rare & important woods Wood is a favoured building material because of availability ease to cut & join decorative properties functionality flexibility & a favourable strength-to-weight ratio The Real Wood Bible is a comprehensive handbook for anyone who works with woodor is planning to Woodworkers crafters carpenters & interior designers will find extensive information about the woods they regularly use as well as discover some new ones This colourful easy-to-use book features How trees are converted into boards & veneers; How to convert your own trees into boards; Woods that incorporate beautiful natural effects; A list of woods available from sustainable sources; Useful advice on buying & storing lumber An extensive & illustrated A-Z guide to the world's most popular woods is at the heart of this book Each wood is shown with a colour illustration demonstrating the true look & beauty of the finished & unfinished grain A special section on sustainability is included with an introduction to key conservation issues The Real Wood Bible is the essential reference for the appreciation of the practical beauty of the world's most popular building material ...

Disc 1 1 I Get a Kick out of You
- Tony Bennett 2 How Long Has This Been Going On?
- Peggy Lee 3 The Very Thought of You
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Disc 11 Rocky Mountain High 2 Leaving on a Jet Plane 3 Rhymes & Reasons 4 Take Me Home Country Roads 5 I Guess He&d Rather Be in Colorado 6 Wild Montana Skies
- John Denver Duet with Emmylou Harris 7 Poems Prayers & Promises 8 Some Days Are Diamonds (Some Days Are Stone)9 Friends with You 10 Goodbye Again 11 I&d Rather Be a Cowboy (Lady&s Chains)12 Farewell Andromeda (Welcome to My Morning)13 Sunshine on My Shoulders 14 Annie&s Song 15 Seasons of the Heart 16 Matthew 17 Thank God I&m a Country Boy 18 Toledo Disc 21 Daydreams 2 Back Home Again 3 Shanghai Breezes 4 Sweet Surrender 5 Looking for Space 6 Is It Love?7 The Cowboy & the Lady 8 I&m Sorry 9 Calypso 10 Fly Away 11 I Want to Live 12 Baby You Look Good to Me Tonight 13 How Can I Leave You Again 14 It Amazes Me 15 My Sweet Lady 16 Dreamland Express 17 Autograph Disc 31 Perhaps Love 2 Love Again 3 Like a Sad Song 4 Everyday 5 For Baby (For Bobbie)6 Grandma&s Feather Bed 7 Aspenglow 8 It Makes Me Giggle 9 Bet On the Blues 10 This Old Guitar 11 Hold On Tightly 12 When I&m Sixty-Four 13 Follow Me 14 I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free 15 Yesterday 16 Amsterdam 17 She Won&t Let Me Fly Away 18 When I Was a Cowboy
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Track Listings Disc 1 1 Just Like a Woman
- Bob Dylan 2 Nothing Can Change This Love
- Sam Cooke 3 To Love Somebody
- Nina


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Asaf Hanuka has captivated audiences around the world with his autobiographical weekly comic strips where he shares the ups & downs of everyday life often in the midst of social & cultural upheaval The Realist Plug & Play continues the journey of artist husband father & ordinary Israeli citizen as he plumbs the depths of human existence with humor & melancholy wild imagination & quiet desperation This critically acclaimed & Eisner award-winning series treats readers to the unique mix of pathos & politics that make Hanuka a modern master of cartooning ...

Weaving together the great ideas of science in this his magnum opus Brian Clegg builds up reality piece by piece from space to time to matter movement the fundamental forces life & the massive transformation that life itself has wrought on the natural world He reveals that underlying it all is not as we might believe a system of immovable absolutes but the ever-shifting amorphous world of relativity From religion to philosophy humanity has traditionally sought out absolutes to explain the world around us but as science has developed relativity has swept away many of these certainties leaving only a handful of unchangeable essentials
- such as absolute zero nothingness light
- leading to better science & a new understanding of the essence of being human This is an Ascent of Man for the 21st century the gripping story of modern science that will fill you with wonder & give you a new insight into our place in the universe

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