Dark Shadows is a compelling portrait of Kazakhstan, a country that is little known in the West. Strategically located in the heart of Central Asia, sandwiched between Vladimir Putin`s Russia
- its former colonial ruler which sees Kazakhstan as its own backyard
- & Xi Jinping`s China
- the rising global superpower on its eastern borders
- this vast oil-rich state is carving out its place in the world as it contends with its own complex past & present. Journalist Joanna Lillis paints a vibrant picture of this emerging nation through vivid reportage based on 13 years of on-the-ground coverage, & travels across the length & breadth of this enigmatic country that lies along the ancient Silk Road & at the geopolitical & cultural crossroads where East meets West. Featuring tales of murder & abduction, intrigue & betrayal, extortion & corruption, this book explores how a vainglorious president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, transformed himself into a potentate & the economically struggling state he inherited at the fall of the USSR into a swaggering oil-rich twenty-first-century monocracy. A colourful cast of characters brings the politics to life: from strutting oligarch to psychotic presidential son-in-law, from principled politicians to striking oilmen, from crusading journalists to courageous campaigners. Dark Shadows explores how Kazakhstan grapples with its Russian imperial & Soviet past, with survivor testimony recounting a dramatic history of revolution & war, famine & flight, terror & trauma that left the Kazakhs battling for their very survival as a people. One elderly lady recounts her forced march to China to escape famine as a child; another tells of her deportation to Central Asia as a newborn; a third recalls how Stalin`s Terror despatched her grandfather to the firing squad & her grandmother to the Gulag. There are heartrending stories about life in post-Soviet environmental disaster zones: victims of nuclear testing around the site where the USSR exploded its first atomic bomb; fishermen left stranded in the desert as the Aral Sea shrinks; villagers in the snow-bound north afflicted by a mysterious sleeping sickness. There are quirky snapshots of life in far-flung corners of Kazakhstan, from the Russian Old Believers harbouring 500-year-old grievances to the maverick atheist who refuses to back down in a clash of principles with the state. There are inspirational tales of labours of love: from the nuclear-physicist-turned-ostrich-farmer tending his brood of gangling bipeds on the southern plains to the minister-turned-viticulturalist reinventing a dilapidated Soviet collective farm as a boutique winery. Traversing dust-blown deserts & majestic mountains, taking in glitzy cities & dystopian landscapes, Dark Shadows conjures up Kazakhstan as a living, breathing place, full of extraordinary people living extraordinary lives.



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Dark Side of the Spoon: The Rock Cookbook features thirty recipes inspired by some of the most renowned rock acts of today & yesteryear. The dishes are accompanied by exclusive artworks from thirty top illustrators. Catering for cooks of all abilities & tastes, this book will help you master a wide range of starters, mains & desserts
- including Smashing Pumpkin Pie, Fleetwood Mac & Cheese & Primal Bream. Dark Side of the Spoon celebrates the many humorous parallels between food & rock, & is a must-have for anyone with a love for cooking, music or illustration, or indeed all three.
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In em Dark Sparring/em, Selina Tusitala Marsh combats family loss with all the techniques of poetry, ritual & Thai kickboxing at her disposal. The book & accompanying CD brim with fluid, humming list poems, literary shoutouts & personal elegies, as Marsh takes us through her mother`s diagnosis with cancer & the long journey out the other side of her illness. Along the way, she shows us other parts of her world: scenes from Matiatia to ?rapiu to Apia; classroom politics; the importance of leadership; & the reasons New Zealand is a `lucky` country. Dark Sparring has an appealing voice, a strong right hook & an affecting, rhythmic heart. ...

Embarking on another ambitious journey, Paul Theroux travels on his Dark Star Safari from Cairo to Cape Town by train, boat & cattle truck. He sets out to travel the length of Africa & to see everything in-between. Travelling through some of the most beautiful & most ravaged landscapes on earth, he revisits countries after forty years` absence
- having been a teacher in Malawi, he revisits his old school, friends & colleagues. The book is infused with the past & Theroux examines the changes that have occurred in these African countries after almost four decades of independence. He reinserts himself into the bush, to wander the ancient savannah & finds the people poorer, hungrier, less educated, more pessimistic & more corrupt. But he also uncovers a vibrant energy in the face of privation & want. Endlessly curious, witty & observant, Theroux is the ideal guide on this epic, enlightening journey. Reviewed by Alex Stewart, retail product manager, Stanfords Covent Garden.* Shortlisted for the 2003 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award.*
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Everest
- the highest mountain in the world & the ultimate climbing challenge. In 2006, 11 people died attempting to reach the
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Just before dawn one summer morning Bruno is summoned by the wail of the siren in the little town of St Denis in the Perigord. A fire is raging in a local barn & spreading to the surrounding fields. When Bruno arrives at the scene, the smell of petrol leaves no doubt
- it was arson. Meanwhile, a Californian producer wants to set up a wine-making business in the valley. Despite the money & jobs this would bring, many fear it would destroy their town. When a violent death follows the crop burning, it looks as though someone is prepared to do anything to stop the scheme. Bruno will have to draw on all his local knowledge to reach the truth.
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From the master of the wartime espionage novel; a thrilling story of subterfuge at sea May 1941. At four in the morning, a rust-streaked tramp freighter steams up the Tagus river to dock at the port of Lisbon. She is the Santa Rosa, flies the flag of neutral Spain, & is in Lisbon to load cork oak, tinned sardines & drums of cooking oil bound for the Baltic port of Malmo. But she is not the Santa Rosa. She is the Noordendam, a Dutch freighter under the command of Captain Eric De Haan. She sails for the intelligence division of the British Royal Navy & is involved in a secret mission. On board are a Polish engineer & British spy, Spaniards who fought for Franco & Germans who fought against Hitler. For them, this is a last desperate flight to freedom. ...

Dark Wind is the true story of Gordon Chaplin & his partner Susan Aitkinson. Both coming from broken first marriages, they rediscover passion & share a desire for adventure. But what started as an idyllic escapade through the Marshall Islands ends in tragedy when their yacht gets trapped in the path of a furious tropical storm ...

From the prize-winning screenwriter of The Theory of Everything, this is a cinematic, behind-the-scenes account of a crucial moment which takes us inside the mind of one of the world`s greatest leaders
- & provides a revisionist, more rounded portrait of his leadership. May, 1940. Britain is at war, European democracies are falling rapidly & the public are unaware of this dangerous new world. Just days after his unlikely succession to Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, faces this horror
- & a sceptical King & a party plotting against him. He wonders how he can capture the public mood & does so, magnificently, before leading the country to victory. It is this fascinating period that Anthony Mc Carten captures in this deeply researched, gripping day-by-day (and often hour-by-hour) narrative. In doing so he revises the familiar view of Churchill
- he made himself into the iconic figure we remember & changed the course of history, but through those turbulent & dangerous weeks he was plagued by doubt, & even explored a peace treaty with Nazi Germany. It`s a scarier, & more human story, than has ever been told.


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A monstrously funny debut from the new star of middle-grade adventure. THEY`RE COMING! Legends (also known as terrifying, human-eating monsters) have invaded the town of Darkmouth & aim to conquer the world. But don`t panic! The last remaining Legend Hunter
- Finn
- will protect us. Finn: twelve-years-old, loves animals, not a natural fighter, but tries really, really hard, & we all know good intentions are the best weapons against a hungry Minotaur, right? On second thoughts, panic. PANIC NOW!

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