Effervescent, energetic & eclectic, this is one of the late Twentieth Century`s finest minds (and bellies) on show. In this compelling collection of essays Clive James focusses on Australian poetry; on television today; on the rise & fall of various icons; on the question of the culpability of the ordinary German in the holocaust; & there is a compellingly provocative & much-talked about piece on the death of Diana. ...

Retirement doesn`t suit John Rebus. He wasn`t made for hobbies, holidays or home improvements. Being a cop is in his blood. So when DI Siobhan Clarke asks for his help on a case, Rebus doesn`t need long to consider his options. Clarke`s been investigating the death of a senior lawyer whose body was found along with a threatening note. On the other side of Edinburgh, Big Ger Cafferty
- Rebus`s long-time nemesis
- has received an identical note & a bullet through his window. Now it`s up to Clarke & Rebus to connect the dots & stop a killer. Even Dogs in the Wild brings back Ian Rankin`s greatest characters in a story exploring the darkest corners of our instincts & desires.

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WINNER OF THE 2012 IMPAC DUBLIN AWARDOn a cold, quiet day between Christmas & the New Year, a man`s body is found in an abandoned apartment. His friends look on, but they`re dead, too. Their bodies found in squats & sheds & alleyways across the city. Victims of a bad batch of heroin, they`re in the shadows, a chorus keeping vigil as the hours pass, paying their own particular homage as their friend`s body is taken away, examined, investigated, & cremated. All of their stories are laid out piece by broken piece through a series of fractured narratives. We meet Robert, the deceased, the only alcoholic in a sprawling group of junkies; Danny, just back from uncomfortable holidays with family, who discovers the body & futiley searches for his other friends to share the news of Robert`s death; Laura, Robert`s daughter, who stumbles into the junky`s life when she moves in with her father after years apart; Heather, who has her own place for the first time since she was a teenager; Mike, the Falklands War vet; & all the others. Theirs are stories of lives fallen through the cracks, hopes flaring & dying, love overwhelmed by a stronger need, & the havoc wrought by drugs, distress, & the disregard of the wider world. These invisible people live in a parallel reality, out of reach of basic creature comforts, like food & shelter. In their sudden deaths, it becomes clear, they are treated with more respect than they ever were in their short lives. Intense, exhilarating, & shot through with hope & fury, Even the Dogs is an intimate exploration of life at the edges of society
- littered with love, loss, despair, & a half-glimpse of redemption.
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Ranging from Texas, to Chile, to New Mexico & New York, in Evening in Paradise Berlin writes about the good, the bad & everything in between: struggling young mothers, husbands who pack their bags & leave in the middle of the night, wives looking back at their first marriage from the distance of their second... The publication of A Manual for Cleaning Women, Lucia Berlin`s dazzling collection of short stories, marked the rediscovery of a writer whose talent had gone unremarked by many. The incredible reaction to Lucia`s writing
- her ability to capture the beauty & ugliness that coexist in everyday lives, the extraordinary honesty & magnetism with which she draws on her own history to breathe life into her characters
- included calls for her contribution to American literature to be as celebrated as that of Raymond Carver. Evening in Paradise is a careful selection from Lucia Berlin`s remaining stories
- a jewel-box follow-up for her hungry fans.


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Evening is the Whole Day by Preeta Samarasan is an exuberant, magical vision of post-colonial Malaysia & a vibrant portrait of a country coming of age, as well as a strong & urgent story about caste & unfairness, centred around a family struggling to deal with its past. The dismissal of the Rajasekharan family’s servant girl Chellam, for unnamed crimes, is only the latest in a series of losses that have shaken six-year-old Aasha’s life. Her grandmother has passed away under mysterious circumstances, & her older sister has disappeared for a new life abroad. But what was Chellam’s unforgiveable crime? Moreover, what is Appa
- the family patriarch
- hiding from his wife & children?

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In this entertaining & engaging memoir, former ambassador Sherard Cowper-Coles lifts the lid on embassy life throughout the world. In 1977 fresh-faced Oxford graduate Sherard Cowper-Coles entered the hallowed portals of the Foreign Office. Over the next thirty years he was invariably to be found at the frontline of international diplomacy, either striding the corridors of power at Westminster or jetting from one exotic location to the next. His tasks ranged from the challenging to the bizarre
- from speech writing for Margaret Thatcher (who scrawled an emphatic `NO!` over his first effort), to hiding an embarrassing bobble hat from Robin Cook. With recollections from the last three decades in international politics, taking us right up to Cowper-Coles`s posting to Afghanistan, ` Ever the Diplomat` is a revealing & witty account of a unique period in our history. Cowper-Coles reveals what went on behind-the-scenes of Whitehall as we encounter a swindler impersonating Liberian President Charles Taylor, the young, idealistic leader of Syria Bashar al-Assad & Tony Blair in his boxer shorts.
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Mike Peyton is the nautical world's best known & much loved cartoonist. For years he has made his mark, contributing witty, well executed & poignantly funny cartoons to the yachting & boating press, poking fun at seafarers of all types & capturing in his distinctive cartoon style their often eccentric & idiosyncratic ways. Now here, at last, is a wonderful collection of Mike Peyton's light hearted & amusing recollections of time spent messing about in boats, all illustrated in his unique cartoon style. A perfect bunkside read for seafarers & landlubbers alike. ...

This book is the RGS` only official publication on the expedition in 2013, marking the 60th anniversary of the first successful ascent &

Includes:: a foreword by Jan Morris. It contains the largest assemblage of images ever published in a book solely about the 1953 Mount Everest Expedition. It features over 250 unique photographs, h&-picked by the RGS` own collections staff. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Mount Everest on 29th May, 1953, by Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay, Ammonite Press, in association with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), presents a lavish photographic record of this historic event. The Earth`s highest mountain, with a peak 8, 848m (29, 029ft) above sea level, located in the Himalayas between Nepal & China, has long been a lure for mountaineers & explorers. The dangers of altitude sickness, adverse weather conditions & ferocious winds make the peak tantalisingly difficult to attain. The ninth British expedition, led by John Hunt, made two attempts in 1953. The first climbing pair came to within 100m (300ft) of the summit on 26th May, but were forced to turn back after experiencing oxygen problems. Two days later New Zealander Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay, a Nepali Sherpa, made a second assault, reaching the summit at 11:30am on 29th May via the South Col Route. The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)`s extensive archives contain an astonishingly detailed & intimate record of the landmark 1953 expedition, with many fascinating & beautiful images captured by the photographers who accompanied the climbing team. This is the first time the RGS has worked in association with a publisher to produce a photographic art book on the subject.

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The possibility of climbing the world`s highest mountain was first aired in 1885. Although Tibet & Nepal were initially forbidden to explorers, the challenge captured the imagination of the world`s mountaineers. Over the next 68 years, obstacles were overcome to allow 12 full-scale expeditions to attempt the summit. Eleven ended in failure
- until on 29 May 1953, the British team achieved the seemingly impossible. The magic of Everest remains undiminished. Since 1953, many expeditions have conquered the mighty peak, but it remains one of the world`s supreme challenges: its very name synonymous with the biggest, the best & the most dangerous. Packed with stunning photography & informative text, ” Everest” will chronicle the story of the mountain & those who attempted
- some successfully, others with fatal consequences
- the ultimate test of bravery.


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It is the highest spot on planet Earth, known to many as the roof of the world & the ultimate challenge for mountainclimbing adventurers. Welcome to Mount Everest. Mount Everest is undoubtedly the most famous mountain on Earth. Hundreds of people clamber to its summit every year, following in Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay s footsteps. But there is so much more to this mountain than the people who climb it. Travel back to its ancient origins, learn about the flowers & plants that grow upon its great flanks, & discover the rich history of Sagarmatha, the Goddess of the Sky. ...