Afghanistan expert Seth G. Jones watched as American optimism evaporated after the Taliban defeat in 2001; by 2005, a new ”war of a thousand cuts” had brought Afghanistan to its knees. With new research on insurgencies & declassified US government documents, Jones shows how the siphoning of resources to Iraq left NATO forces in Afghanistan ineffectual & without support. Through interviews with prominent figures, including ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad & commander Karl Eikenberry, Jones explains how a growing sanctuary for insurgents in Pakistan & a collapsing government in Kabul were a catalyst for the Taliban resurgence. Examining what has & has not worked so far, Jones argues that the US must take a radically new approach to the war if it is to avoid the disastrous fate that has befallen every world power to enter the region. With a new afterword. ...

By turns fascinating, funny, & horrifying, this is Nick Gordon`s account of more than 10 years spent in the Amazonian forests as a wildlife filmmaker, snorting ground-up seeds with the local shaman, building an artificial tarantula habitat to film the furry monsters mating, & killing & eating a two-foot snake. ...

One of the most impressive of all Victorian scientists but also a marvelous writer, Bates' (1825-1892) account of his years in the upper reaches of the Amazon is almost too good to be true
- a great monument to human inquisitiveness as he battles great hoards of malevolent reptiles & insects in his quest for ever more obscure specimens on ever more narrow & creeper-choked tributaries. Great Journeys allows readers to travel both around the planet & back through the centuries
- but also back into ideas & worlds frightening, ruthless & cruel in different ways from our own. Few reading experiences can begin to match that of engaging with writers who saw astounding things: great civilizations, walls of ice, violent & implacable jungles, deserts & mountains, & multitudes of birds & flowers new to science. Reading these books is to see the world afresh, to rediscover a time when many cultures were quite strange to each other, where legends & stories were treated as facts & in which so much was still to be discovered.

...

Stifled by the torpor of colonial South Africa & trapped in a web of reciprocal oppression, a lonely sheep farmer seeks comfort in the arms of a black concubine. But when his embittered spinster daughter Magda feels shamed, this lurch across the racial divide marks the end of a tenuous feudal peace. As she dreams madly of bloody revenge, Magda`s consciousness starts to drift & the line between fact & the workings of her excited imagination becomes blurred. What follows is the fable of a woman`s passionate, obsessed & violent response to an Africa that will not heed her. ...

H.E. Bates is a revered writer on the countryside; author of a wealth of books reflecting English life including, The Darling Buds of May. Beautifully illustrated with wood engravings by the renowned wildlife artist C.F. Tunnicliffe. The genius of H.E. Bates & C.F. Tunnicliffe was inspired by the beauty of the English countryside. This book is their tribute to its many faces: the magnificence of winter blizzards; the sudden sweet arrival of spring blossom; the heavy scent of an August garden; or the bronze glow of autumn light. Its pages are full of sharp observations which reveal the loveliness of everyday sights & fleeting moments, from the charm of butterflies & their names, to the behavior of animals & birds; the joys of gardening, the character of the people & their ever-changing landscape. ...

The epic true-life story of one of the most notorious maritime disasters of the nineteenth century
- & inspiration for ` Moby Dick`
-

...

This is a 50th anniversary edition of the classic crime novel that inspired the Oscar-winning film starring Sidney Poitier. ` They call me Mr Tibbs!` A small southern town in the 1960s. A musician found dead on the highway. It`s no surprise when white detectives arrest a black man for the murder. What is a surprise is that the black man
- Virgil Tibbs
- is himself a skilled homicide detective from California, whom inexperienced Chief Gillespie reluctantly recruits to help with the case. Faced with mounting local hostility & a police force that seems determined to see him fail, it isn`t long before Tibbs
- trained in karate & aikido
- will have to fight not just for justice, but also for his own safety. The inspiration for the Academy Award-winning film starring Sidney Poitier, this iconic crime novel is a psychologically astute examination of racial prejudice, an atmospheric depiction of the American South in the sixties, & a brilliant, suspense-filled read set in the sultry heat of the night.



...

During the early fifties, Kenya was a country in turmoil. While Ngugi enjoys scouting trips, chess tournaments & reading about Biggles at the prestigious Alliance School near Nairobi, things are changing at home. He arrives back for his first visit since starting school to find his house razed to the ground & the entire village moved up the road closer to a guard checkpoint. Later, his brother, Good Wallace, who fights for the rebels, is captured by the British & taken to a concentration camp. Finally, Ngugi himself comes into conflict with the forces of colonialism when he is victimised by a police officer on a bus journey & thrown in prison for six days. This fascinating memoir charts the development of a significant voice in international literature, as well as standing as a record of the struggles of a nation to free itself. ...

Explore crowded canopies, towering treetops & the dense forest floor in First Explorers: In the Jungle. Meet tigers, monkeys, leopards & lots of other amazing creatures who live in the jungle. Each scene has chunky push, pull & slide mechanisms, animals to spot & fun facts about jungle animals. Beautifully illustrated by Jenny Wren, this title has gentle learning & is a magical introduction to the natural world. Also available: Night Animals, Sea Creatures, Dinosaurs ...

The age of exploration was drawing to a close, yet the mystery of the North Pole remained. Contemporaries described the pole as the `unattainable object of our dreams`, & the urge to fill in this last great blank space on the map grew irresistible. In 1879 the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco to cheering crowds & amid a frenzy of publicity. The ship & its crew, captained by the heroic George De Long, were destined for the uncharted waters of the Arctic. But it wasn`t long before the Jeannette was trapped in crushing pack ice. Amid the rush of water & the shrieks of breaking wooden boards, the crew found themselves marooned a thousand miles north of Siberia with only the barest supplies, facing a seemingly impossible trek across endless ice. Battling everything from snow blindness & polar bears to ferocious storms & frosty labyrinths, the expedition fought madness & starvation as they desperately strove for survival. ...