” When the Great War ended in 1918, the West was broken. Religious faith, patriotism & the belief in human progress had all been called into question by the mass carnage experienced by both sides. Shell shocked & traumatized, the West faced a world it no longer recognized: the old order had collapsed, replaced by an age of machines. The world hurtled forward on gears & crankshafts, & terrifying new ideologies arose from the wreckage of past belief. In Fracture, critically acclaimed historian Philipp Blom argues that in the aftermath of the First World War, citizens of the West directed their energies inwards, launching into hedonistic, aesthetic & intellectual adventures of self-discovery. It was a period of both bitter disillusionment & visionary progress. From Surrealism to Oswald Spengler`s The Decline of the West; from Fritz Lang`s Metropolis to theoretical physics, & from Art Deco to Jazz & the Charleston dance, artists, scientists & philosophers grappled with the question of how to live & what to believe in a broken age. Morbid symptoms emerged simultaneously from the decay of the First World War: progress & innovation were everywhere met with increasing racism & xenophobia. America closed its borders to European refugees & turned away from the desperate poverty caused by the Great Depression. On both sides of the Atlantic, disenchanted voters flocked to Communism & fascism, forming political parties based on violence & revenge that presaged the horror of a new World War. Vividly recreating this era of unparalleled ambition, artistry & innovation, Blom captures the seismic shifts that defined the interwar period & continue to shape our world today.” ...

When the Great War ended in 1918, the West was broken. Religious faith, patriotism & the belief in human progress had all been called into question by the mass carnage experienced by both sides. Shell shocked & traumatized, the West faced a world it no longer recognized: the old order had collapsed, replaced by an age of machines. The world hurtled forward on gears & crankshafts, & terrifying new ideologies arose from the wreckage of past belief. In Fracture, critically acclaimed historian Philipp Blom argues that in the aftermath of the First World War, citizens of the West directed their energies inwards, launching into hedonistic, aesthetic & intellectual adventures of self-discovery. It was a period of both bitter disillusionment & visionary progress. From Surrealism to Oswald Spengler`s The Decline of the West; from Fritz Lang`s Metropolis to theoretical physics, & from Art Deco to Jazz & the Charleston dance, artists, scientists & philosophers grappled with the question of how to live & what to believe in a broken age. Morbid symptoms emerged simultaneously from the decay of the First World War: progress & innovation were everywhere met with increasing racism & xenophobia. America closed its borders to European refugees & turned away from the desperate poverty caused by the Great Depression. On both sides of the Atlantic, disenchanted voters flocked to Communism & fascism, forming political parties based on violence & revenge that presaged the horror of a new World War. Vividly recreating this era of unparalleled ambition, artistry & innovation, Blom captures the seismic shifts that defined the interwar period & continue to shape our world today. ...

An urgent examination of how the political, economic & social volatility in Europe will affect the US & the rest of the world. President Obama began his first term with a concerted effort to reshape America`s image abroad. He made overtures to the Islamic world in Cairo, pivoted towards China & vowed to ”reset” relations with Russia. What Obama has forgotten, argues William Drozdiak, was the imminent crisis in Europe which threatens not only America`s long-time relationship with her allies, but global security. The UK stunned the world by leaving the EU; in Germany, there is growing alarm that one million refugees, mostly from Syria, are putting the country`s stability at risk; in Spain, a protracted economic crisis has spread disillusionment among young people & damaged support for centrist political leaders; while Greece has become a waystation for refugees fleeing Syria. By speaking with world leaders from Brussels to Berlin, from Rome to Riga, Drozdiak described the crises, the attempted solutions & asks where Europe goes from here & how the west can revitalise its key institutions like NATO & the EU. The result is a timely, character- & narrative-driven book about this tumultuous phase of contemporary European history. ...

In 2011, a series of anti-government uprisings shook the Middle East & North Africa in what would become known as the Arab Spring. Few could predict that these convulsions, initially hailed in the West as a triumph of democracy, would give way to brutal civil war, the terrors of the Islamic State, & a global refugee crisis. But, as New York Times bestselling author Scott Anderson shows, the seeds of catastrophe had been sown long before. In this gripping account, Anderson examines the myriad complex causes of the region`s profound unraveling, tracing the ideological conflicts of the present to their origins in the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003 & beyond. From this investigation emerges a rare view into a land in upheaval through the eyes of six individuals-the matriarch of a dissident Egyptian family; a Libyan Air Force cadet with divided loyalties; a Kurdish physician from a prominent warrior clan; a Syrian university student caught in civil war; an Iraqi activist for women`s rights; & an Iraqi day laborer-turned-ISIS fighter. A probing & insightful work of reportage, Fractured Lands offers a penetrating portrait of the contemporary Arab world & brings the stunning realities of an unprecedented geopolitical tragedy into crystalline focus. ...

Frafjord – Bjerkreimsheine area in Norway in a series of GPS compatible recreational maps at 1:50, 000 with cartography from Norway’s topographic survey & additional tourist information. Contours lines are drawn at 20m intervals. The overprint varies from title to title, but

Includes:: local footpaths, in some cases distinguishing between easy & more difficult trails, as well as mountain huts & campsites. Many titles also indicate cycle or ski routes, other accommodation possibilities, sport & recreational facilities, including alpine skiing slopes, places of interest, etc. The maps have a UTM grid & margin ticks giving latitude & longitude. Map legend

Includes:: English. Several titles have on the reverse additional tourist information, although in most cases in Norwegian only. To see the list of Turkart maps at 1:50, 000 & links to Turkart series at 25K, 100K & Hiking Sets please click on the series link above.



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Topographic coverage of mainland Spain at 1:50, 000 in the MTN50 (Mapa Topográfico Nacional) series from the Centro Nacional de Información Geografica, the country’s civilian survey organization. The maps have contours at 20m intervals, enhanced by relief shading, plus colouring and/or graphics to show different types of terrain, vegetation or land use. Boundaries of national parks & other protected areas are marked. In addition to all the usual information featured on topographic mapping at this scale, detailed presentation of the road & rail networks, rural tracks & paths, etc, the maps also show campsites & mountain refuges. On more recent editions some GRs, the official long-distance hiking routes, are also marked (although not as clearly as on hiking maps from other publishers). Each map covers 29.5x 18.5 km (with adjustments in the border or coastal areas). The maps have a 1-km UTM grid, plus margin ticks for latitude & longitude at 1` intervals. Map legend is in Spanish only.HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT 50K MAP: all the titles in CNIG’s 200K Provincial Road Maps series at 1:200, 000 are overprinted with the grid for the 1:50, 000 maps & can be used to see the area covered by each 50K title. TO SEE THE LIST OF TITLES IN THIS SERIES PLEASE CLICK ON THE SERIES LINK.PLEASE NOTE
- MAP TITLES: the grids shown on our website serve both the civilian & the military 1:50, 000 topographic series. Although the areas covered by maps in both series are identical (apart from some border or coastal sheets), occasionally map titles differ – only one title is shown on the grid, usually the military one. In Galicia, the Basque country & in the Catalan speaking areas the tendency now is to use local place names rather than the often better known Castilian ones. Where possible, both versions are included in our titles. Map titles listed on our website are based on information received by us at the time of publication, but sometimes maps arrive showing a completely different title! As long as the map number is as ordered, the correct map has been supplied.
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An incredible memoir from one of the world`s most eminent heart surgeons & some of the most remarkable & poignant cases he`s worked on. Grim Reaper sits on the heart surgeon`s shoulder. A slip of the hand & life ebbs away. The balance between life & death is so delicate, & the heart surgeon walks that rope between the two. In the operating room there is no time for doubt. It is flesh, blood, rib-retractors & pumping the vital organ with your bare hand to squeeze the life back into it. An off-day can have dire consequences
- this job has a steep learning curve, & the cost is measured in human life. Cardiac surgery is not for the faint of heart. Professor Stephen Westaby took chances & pushed the boundaries of heart surgery. He saved hundreds of lives over the course of a thirty-five year career & now, in his astounding memoir, Westaby details some of his most remarkable & poignant cases
- such as the baby who had suffered multiple heart attacks by six months old, a woman who lived the nightmare of locked-in syndrome, & a man whose life was powered by a battery for eight years.A powerful, important & incredibly moving book, Fragile Lives offers an exceptional insight into the exhilarating & sometimes tragic world of heart surgery, & how it feels to hold someone`s life in your hands.

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THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.2 BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE BMA PRESIDENT`S AWARD 2017 An incredible memoir from one of the world`s most eminent heart surgeons, recalling some of the most remarkable & poignant cases he`s worked on. Grim Reaper sits on the heart surgeon`s shoulder. A slip of the hand & life ebbs away. The balance between life & death is so delicate, & the heart surgeon walks that rope between the two. In the operating room there is no time for doubt. It is flesh, blood, rib-retractors & pumping the vital organ with your bare hand to squeeze the life back into it. An off-day can have dire consequences
- this job has a steep learning curve, & the cost is measured in human life. Cardiac surgery is not for the faint of heart. Professor Stephen Westaby took chances & pushed the boundaries of heart surgery. He saved hundreds of lives over the course of a thirty-five year career & now, in his astounding memoir, Westaby details some of his most remarkable & poignant cases
- such as the baby who had suffered multiple heart attacks by six months old, a woman who lived the nightmare of locked-in syndrome, & a man whose life was powered by a battery for eight years. A powerful, important & incredibly moving book, Fragile Lives offers an exceptional insight into the exhilarating & sometimes tragic world of heart surgery, & how it feels to hold someone`s life in your hands.

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Neil Gaiman`s extraordinary Fragile Things, from the bestselling author of The Ocean at the End of the Lane & American Gods, reveals one of the world`s most gifted storytellers at the height of his powers, & harnesses the Gothic power of Angela Carter`s The Bloody Chamber to the storytelling genius of Stephen King. ` The collections also boasts lush prose... & a winning faith in the enchantment of stories` Kirkus Reviews The distinctive genius of Neil Gaiman has been championed by writers as diverse as Norman Mailer & Stephen King. With THE SANDMAN Neil Gaiman created one of the most sophisticated, intelligent & influential graphic novel series of our time. Now Gaiman has produced FRAGILE THINGS, his second collection of short fiction. These stories will dazzle your senses, haunt your imagination & move you to the very depths of your soul. ...

FRAGILE THINGS shows one of the world`s most gifted storytellers at the height of his powers. Let me tell you stories of the months of the year, of ghosts & heartbreak, of dread & desire. Or after-hours drinking & unanswered phones, of good deeds & bad days, of trusting wolves & how to talk to girls. There are stories within stories, whispered in the quiet of the night, shouted above the roar of the day, & played out between lovers & enemies, strangers & friends. But all, all are fragile things made from just 26 letters arranged & rearranged to form tales & imaginings which will dazzle your senses, haunt your imagination & move you to the very depths of your soul. ...