In the renowned translation by Edward Fitz Gerald with an introduction by Professor Cedric Watts Here is Edward Fitz Gerald's original translation of the Rubaiyat the collection of poems attributed to the Persian astronomer & mathematician Omar Khayyam Fitz Gerald's distinctive version (1859) with its oriental imagery & sensual warmth made an exotic appeal to the Victorian imagination Its scepticism fitted a time of increasing religious doubt; its romantic melancholy resonated with the writings of Matthew Arnold & Thomas Hardy; & its epicureanism heralded the Aesthetic Movement It has inspired composers rock groups artists & film-makers As rendered by Fitz Gerald the Rubaiyat remains a seductively subversive poem ...

Two men two empires Jaibriol ruled the Eubian Concord over two trillion people across more than a thousand worlds & habitats Kelric ruled the Skolian Imperialate War had come before-ten years ago Jaibriol had lost his parents in the final battle of the Radiance War between the Concord & the Imperialate-and it might come again devastating vast swathes of the galaxy Neither Jaibriol nor Kelric wanted war but neither was complete master of his realm & each hid a secret that if revealed might be his downfall Jaibriol was a secret psion with telepathic abilities & to be a psion in the Eubian Concord was to be a contemptible slave eventually to be tortured for the pleasure of the slave&s owner Kelric years ago had disappeared for nearly two decades He had been a prisoner & slave on the planet Coban part of neither empire until he had managed to escape & if the Skolian Imperialate knew of his captivity there would be demands for vengeance ravaging Coban-and killing the wife & children Kelric had left behind when he escaped Neither man knew how much longer he could keep his secret-nor how much longer they could hold back the threat of a war that could incinerate hundreds of inhabited worlds ...

The first book in Philip Pullman's classic SALLY LOCKHART quartet in a beautiful new edition to celebrate the 30 year anniversary Soon after Sally Lockhart's father drowns at sea she receives an anonymous letter The dire warning it contains makes a man die of fear at her feet Determined to discover the truth about her father's death Sally is plunged into a terrifying mystery in the dark heart of Victorian London at the centre of which lies a deadly blood-soaked jewel Philip Pullman's ever-popular action-packed Victorian melodramas are rejacketed for the bicentenary of Charles Dickens in 2012 ...

Fantastic Rudies Truck With repugnantes sounds of sink & bath
Includes: exclusive pet With Poop included ...

A sparkling new translation of the classic work on violence & revolution as seen through mythology & art The Ruin of Kasch takes up two subjects the first is Talleyrand & the second is everything else wrote Italo Calvino when the book first appeared in 1983 Hailed as one of those rare books that persuade us to see our entire civilization in a new light its guide is the French statesman Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand who knew the secrets of the ancien regime & all that came after & was able to adapt the notion of legitimacy to the modern age Roberto Calasso follows him through a vast gallery of scenes set immediately before & after the French Revolution making occasional forays backward & forward in time from Vedic India to the porticoes of the Palais-Royal & to the killing fields of Pol Pot with appearances by Goethe & Marie Antoinette Napoleon & Marx Walter Benjamin & Chateaubriand At the centre stands the story of the ruin of Kasch a legendary kingdom based on the ritual killing of the king & emblematic of the ruin of ancient & modern regimes' Startling puzzling profound a work charged with intelligence & literary seduction' The New York Times' Unique idiosyncratic & vaultingly ambitious essential reading' Independent'A great fat jewel-box of a book gleaming with obscure treasures' John Banville ...

The Ruins of Gorlan is the first thrilling book in John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series
- over eight million sold worldwide
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' Idleness is the enemy of the soul' Saint Benedict's advice to monks
- on everything from correct posture to the value
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St Benedict's inspirational work has been guiding Benedictine monks for fifteen centuries & the Penguin Classics edition of The Rule of Benedict is translated with an introduction & notes by Carolinne White Founder of a monastery at Monte Cassino between Rome & Naples in the sixth century St Benedict intended his Rule to be a practical guide to Christian monastic life Based on the key precepts of humility obedience & love its aim is to create a harmonious & efficient religious community in which individuals can make progress in the Christian virtues & gain eternal life Here Benedict sets out ideal monastery routines & regulations from the qualities of a good abbot the twelve steps to humility & the value of silence to such every day matters as kitchen duties care of the sick & the suitable punishment for lateness at mealtimes Benedict's legacy is still strong
- his Rule remains a source of inspiration & a key work in the history of the Christian church Carolinne White's accessible translation is accompanied by an introduction discussing Benedict's teachings what is known of his life & the influence & spread of his Rule Saint Benedict of Nursia (c 480-543 AD) founded twelve monasteries the best known of which was his first monastery at Monte Cassino in Italy Benedict wrote a set of rules governing his monks The Rule of Benedict one of the more influential documents in Western Civilization Benedict was canonized a saint in 1220 If you enjoyed The Rule of Benedict you might enjoy St Augustine's Confessions also available in Penguin Classics
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' The Rule of Law' is a phrase much used but little examined The idea of the rule of law as the foundation of modern states & civilisations has recently become even more talismanic than that of democracy but what does it actually consist of? In this brilliant short book Britain's former senior law lord & one of the world's most acute legal minds examines what the idea actually means He makes clear that the rule of law is not an arid legal doctrine but is the foundation of a fair & just society is a guarantee of responsible government is an important contribution to economic growth & offers the best means yet devised for securing peace & co-operation He briefly examines the historical origins of the rule & then advances eight conditions which capture its essence as understood in western democracies today He also discusses the strains imposed on the rule of law by the threat & experience of international terrorism The book will be influential in many different fields & should become a key text for anyone interested in politics society & the state of our world ...

In the wake of the EU referendum the United Kingdom's border with Ireland has gained greater significance it is set to become the frontier with the European Union To uncover its secret landscape with a troubled past & an uncertain future Garrett Carr travelled Ireland's border on foot & by canoe This invisible line has hosted smugglers & kings runaways peacemakers protestors & terrorists revealing the tumult of a border changing the way we look at nationhood land & power From encounters with border dwellers to uncovering rituals hidden pathways & ancient monuments this book presents the borderland as a unique realm of its own & asks what it holds for the future ...