`the greatest short story writer who has ever lived` Raymond Carver`s unequivocal verdict on Chekhov`s genius has been echoed many times by writers as diverse as Katherine Mansfield, Somerset Maugham, John Cheever & Tobias Wolf. While his popularity as a playwright has sometimes overshadowed his achievements in prose, the importance of Chekhov`s stories is now recognized by readers as well as by fellow authors. Their themes
- alienation, the absurdity & tragedy of human existence
- have as much relevance today as when they were written, & these superb new translations capture their modernist spirit. Elusive & subtle, spare & unadorned, the stories in this selection are among Chekhov`s most poignant & lyrical. They include well-known pieces such as ` The Lady with the Little Dog`, as well as less familiar work like ` Gusev`, inspired by Chekhov`s travels in the Far East, & ` Rothschild`s Violin`, a haunting & darkly humorous tale about death & loss. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World`s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford`s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, & much more.

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This is a new pocket guide book aimed at cultural & heritage tourists. It explores festivals, events, castles, museums, galleries, historic houses & industrial heritage throughout Mid Wales. The book is heavily illustrated with superb pictures throughout the content. The About Wales pocket guides have over 100 ideas each on what to see & do in that region of Wales, with information about where to stay & eat. It

Includes:: a foreword Sian Lloyd, & writer David Williams.

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Since she`s been ill, Lalla Fatma has become a frail little thing with a faltering memory. Lalla Fatma thinks she`s in Fez in 1944, where she grew up, not in Tangier in 2000, where this story begins. She calls out to family members who are long dead & loses herself in the streets of her childhood, yearning for her first love & the city she left behind. By her bedside, her son Tahar listens to long-hidden secrets & stories from her past: married while still playing with dolls & widowed for the first time at the age of sixteen. Guided by these fragments, Tahar vividly conjures his mother`s life in post-war Morocco, unravelling the story of a woman for whom resignation was the only way out. Tender & compelling, About My Mother maps the beautiful, fragile & complex nature of human experience, while paying tribute to a remarkable woman & the bond between mother & son. ...

This is a new pocket guide book aimed at cultural & heritage tourists. It explores festivals, events, castles, museums, galleries, historic houses & industrial heritage throughout South East Wales. The book is heavily illustrated with superb pictures throughout the content. The About Wales pocket guides have over 100 ideas each on what to see & do in that region of Wales, with information about where to stay & eat. It

Includes:: a foreword by Sian Lloyd & writer David Williams.

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Once, when asked for advice on how to become a writer, Lopez found himself replying: Read. Find out what you truly believe. Get away from the familiar. This collection of essays stems directly from that philosophy. Here is far-flung travel (the beauty of remote Hokkaido Isl&, the over-explored Galapagos, enigmatic Bonaire); a naturalist's concerns (for endangered communities as well as their land) & pure adventure. Here, too, are seven exquisite memory pieces; beautiful, meditative recollections that will stand as classic examples of the personal essay. ...

Above All Things is a heart-wrenchingly romantic historical novel by Tanis Rideout, based on British mountaineer George Mallory's fatal attempt to climb Everest, & his wife Ruth, who is left at home, waiting for him to return to her. In the Himalayas two climbers strike out for the summit of the Earth's highest mountain
- aiming to be the first to the top, & reclaim a little of Britain's lost glory. In Cambridge, a wife collects the milk, gets three children out of bed & waits for a letter, a telegram
- for news of her husb&. It is 1924 & after months of setbacks & failures, George Mallory & Andrew Sandy Irvine are attempting to be the first to conquer Everest. Alone on the mountain they struggle against inhuman cold, violent winds, thin air
- but climbing, putting one foot falteringly after another, they reach for the cloud-shrouded peak. At home Ruth Mallory goes about her day; visiting friends & comforting children she longs for news of George. She considers her marriage
- the passion, the fights, the bitter absences, the loving reunions, all the snatched moments during the war & between expeditions. She hides her doubts & the uncertainty about the future with or
- god forbid
- without him. A powerful, moving story of a husband driven to extraordinary lengths by his ambition & a wife terrified she will lose him to a cruel & pitiless rival, Above All Things is a timeless story of one of the great tragedies
- & love stories
- of the last century. Above All Things has it all: adventure, tragedy, mystery, & a deeply moving love story. It's gorgeously written & beautifully paced. I could not put it down. Prepare to be dazzled. (Alison Pick, author of Far to Go). A love story, a tale of adventure, & a study in obsession all at once, Above All Things is simply breathtaking. With Tanis Rideout's debut, a major new voice in Canadian fiction arrives. (Joseph Boyden, author of Through Black Spruce). Timeless romance, an unflinching love story that touches the very core of the human condition. Rideout leaves readers holding the book close to their chest, knowing that the purpose of life, above all else, is love. (Telegraph). A must-read for Everest buffs with a sensitive side, & for those who want to understand the anatomy of climbing accidents. It is also the perfect summer read for anyone lured by the romance of adventure, as the story goes well beyond the vast summit of Everest into much trickier terrain: the unmapped topography of the heart. (Globe & Mail). Tanis Rideout's work has appeared in numerous publications & been shortlisted for several prizes, including the Bronwen Wallace Memorial Award for Emerging Writers & the CBC Literary Award. In 2006, she was named the Poet Laureate for Lake Ontario by the environmental advocacy group Lake Ontario Waterkeeper & joined Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip on a tour to promote environmental justice on the lake. Born in Belgium, Tanis grew up in Bermuda & in Kingston, Ontario, & now lives in Toronto. She recently received her MFA from the University of Guelph-Humber. Above All Things is her first novel.







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Lift the lid on eight animal habitats to see the extraordinary natural stories that happen above & below the surface. From the rainforest to the ocean & the macro to the micro, lift the flap to explore the fascinating relationships occurring in each of the world`s ecosystems. ...

Lift the lid on eight animal habitats to see the extraordinary natural stories that happen above & below the surface. From the rainforest to the ocean & the macro to the micro, lift the flap to explore the fascinating relationships occurring in each of the world`s ecosystems. ...

The past two centuries have marked the age of the city in Scotl&. Powered by industrial growth & driven by social change, much of the nation has been transformed from the rural to the urban. But the stories of our cities began long before this. From ancient origins to the construction of some of the world`s most fascinating buildings, through hardships of war, plague, fire & economic depression to innovative programmes of urban renewal, our cities bear the scars & boast the treasures of thousands of years of incredible progress & change. Across the central belt, vast, brash Glasgow meets classically austere Edinburgh. Dundee, a city built by an old Empire, now thrives on new technology. In the granite shadows of Aberdeen, a vibrant fishing community has been changed forever by the arrival of the oil barons. & then there are Scotland`s newest cities: Stirling, once a centre of Royal power, & Inverness, the urban gateway to a wild Highland landscape. This lavishly illustrated volume looks at the character & development of each of Scotland`s six cities, drawing on stunning aerial photography from the 1920s to the present day to tell their fascinating stories from a unique & illuminating perspective. & for the first time ever, in a special dedicated section, readers can view images of Scotland`s cities in 3D, seeing stunning details rise up out of the page, from the imposing rocky heights of the castles of Edinburgh & Stirling, to the ordered grid-iron canyons of central Glasgow. ...

The landscape of Scotland is full of dramatic contrasts. The high, rugged peaks of the Cairngorms look down on the rounded hills of the southern uplands. Wild moorlands run into fertile flood-plains. The coastline ranges from soft sandy beaches & crystal-clear waters to jagged cliffs battered by the fierce waves of the Atlantic. Aerial photography provides unique & striking perspectives on how the people of Scotland have lived, worked, fought over, worshipped, developed & changed this l&, leaving no part untouched or unaltered by human activity. The Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) holds the national collection of aerial photography for Scotland with millions of images dating from the 1920s to the present day. These photographs
- many of which have never been seen before by the public
- tell the remarkable story of a changing nation, from stone circles, Roman remains & ruined castles, to the growth of villages, towns & cities, the rise & fall of heavy industry, the country at war & the proud engineering & architecture of the modern landscape. For the first time in one volume, RCAHMS has brought together the finest images from its collection in a stunning illustration of Scotland's past, present & future.

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