NOW A SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLERFROM THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE TEA PLANTER'S WIFEDinah Jefferies' stunning ...

Stretching from the ancient Chinese capital of Xian across the expanses of Central Asia to Rome the Silk Road was for 1500 years a vibrant network of arteries that carried the lifeblood of nations across the world Along a multitude of routes everything was exchanged exotic goods art knowledge religion philosophy disease & war From the East came silk precious stones tea jade paper porcelain spices & cotton; from the West horses weapons wool & linen aromatics entertainers & exotic animals From its earliest beginnings in the days of Alexander the Great & the Han dynasty the Silk Road expanded & evolved reaching its peak during the Tang dynasty & the Byzantine Empire & gradually withering away with the decline of the Mongol Empire In this beautifully illustrated book which covers the Central Asian section of the Silk Road
- from Lake Issyk-kul through Tashkent Samarkand Bukhara the Kyzyl Kum Desert Khiva & Merv to Herat Kabul & Iran
- Jonathan Tucker uses travellers' anecdotes & a wealth of literary & historical sources to celebrate the cultural heritage of the countries that lie along the Silk Road & illuminate the lives of those who once travelled through the very heart of the world

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The Silk Road is as iconic in world history as the Colossus of Rhodes or the Suez Canal But what was it exactly? It conjures up a hazy image of a caravan of camels laden with silk on a dusty desert track reaching from China to Rome The reality was different-and far more interesting-as revealed in this new history In The Silk Road Valerie Hansen describes the remarkable archeological finds that revolutionize our understanding of these trade routes For centuries key records remained hidden-sometimes deliberately buried by bureaucrats for safe keeping But the sands of the Taklamakan Desert have revealed fascinating material sometimes preserved by illiterate locals who recycled official documents to make insoles for shoes or garments for the dead Hansen explores seven oases along the road from Xi'an to Samarkand where merchants envoys pilgrims & travelers mixed in cosmopolitan communities tolerant of religions from Buddhism to Zoroastrianism There was no single continuous road but a chain of markets that traded between east & west China & the Roman Empire had very little direct trade China's main partners were the peoples of modern-day Iran whose tombs in China reveal much about their Zoroastrian beliefs Silk was not the most important good on the road; paper invented in China before Julius Caesar was born had a bigger impact in Europe while metals spices & glass were just as important as silk Perhaps most significant of all was the road's transmission of ideas technologies & artistic motifs The Silk Road is a fascinating story of archeological discovery cultural transmission & the intricate chains across Central Asia & China ...

The No 1 Sunday Times & international bestseller
- a major reassessment of world history in light of the economic & political renaissance
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For centuries fame & fortune was to be found in the west
- in the New World of the Americas Today it is the east which calls out
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1760 Spitalfields Anna Butterfield's life is about to change forever as she moves from her idyllic Suffolk home to be introduced into London society A chance encounter with a French silk weaver Henri draws her in to the volatile world of the city's burgeoning silk trade Henri is working on his master piece' to become a master weaver & freeman; Anna longs to become an artist while struggling against pressure from her uncle's family to marry a wealthy young lawyer As their lives become ever more intertwined Henri realises that Anna's designs could give them both an opportunity for freedom But his world becomes more dangerous by the day as riots threaten to tear them apart forever Inspired by real historical events & characters The Silk Weaver is a captivating unforgettable story of illicit romance in a time of enlightenment & social upheaval ...

Now a major BBC drama The Strike series When novelist Owen Quine goes missing his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike At first she just thinks he has gone off by himself for a few days
- as he has done before
- & she wants Strike to find him & bring him home But as Strike investigates it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realises The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows If the novel were published it would ruin lives
- so there are a lot of people who might want to silence him & when Quine is found brutally murdered in bizarre circumstances it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer a killer unlike any Strike has encountered before A compulsively readable crime novel with twists at every turn The Silkworm is the second in the highly acclaimed series featuring Cormoran Strike & his determined young assistant Robin Ellacott


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Now a major BBC drama The Strike series When novelist Owen Quine goes missing his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike At first she just thinks he has gone off by himself for a few days
- as he has done before
- & she wants Strike to find him & bring him home But as Strike investigates it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realises The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows If the novel were published it would ruin lives
- so there are a lot of people who might want to silence him And when Quine is found brutally murdered in bizarre circumstances it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer a killer unlike any he has encountered before A compulsively readable crime novel with twists at every turn The Silkworm is the second in the highly acclaimed series featuring Cormoran Strike & his determined young assistant Robin Ellacott


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A hilarious joke book raising money for the Jeans for Genes appeal The Silliest Joke Book Ever from Puffin Books is a hilariously funny book containing hundreds of jokes on every subject under the sun as well as the favourite jokes of famous celebrities All royalties will be going to the Jeans for Genes Appeal in association with Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital The appeal funds research into genetic disorders in children A Jeans for Genes Day is held every year when people are invited to wear their jeans for a GBP1 donation ...

This laugh-out-loud book is bursting with lists facts jokes & funny true stories all about silly people silly animals silly inventions silly names & much more Discover The Great Stink the man who ate a bike a girl really called Lorna Mower & a sofa that can do 101mph Find out about famous pranks crazy festivals nutty cats gross foods epic sports fails ludicrously silly words & really rubbish predictions There are even lots of great silly things to do Unmissable! ...