National Geographic Society has throughout its history been famous for its excellent photographs, particularly for its portraits which have provided many iconic images from all over the world. In Focus: National Geographic Greatest Portraits offers an extensive selection of photos spanning well over a century. The images are grouped into periods that correspond roughly to changes in photographic equipment & techniques, from the cumbersome cameras & long exposures of early days to the advent of colour film & the lightweight, versatile modern gear that fostered a new, informal spontaneity in portraiture. The book traces the evolving roles & goals of photographers themselves, & offers revealing insights on how their work both reflects & influences how we see ourselves & our world. ...

The tenth Richard Bolitho novel in Alexander Kent`s spectacularly successful series deals with Bolitho`s life as a young lieutenant aboard the Trojan, an eighty-gun ship of the line. The year is 1777 when the revolution in America has erupted into a full-scale war. The navy`s main task is to prevent military supplies from reaching Washington`s armies & to destroy the fast-growing fleet of French & American privateers. As a junior officer Bolitho is often bewildered by swiftly changing events, but in a ship of the line, under a hard & determined captain, he has little opportunity for uncertainty. At a time of shortages & sudden death even a lieutenant can find himself faced with tasks & decisions more suitably given to officers of greater experience
- & as the Trojan goes about her affairs the threat to Bolitho & his companions makes itself felt from New York to the Caribbean.
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Though much has been written about the political implications of the religious revival which has engulfed America in recent years, a question remains unanswered: what pushes its people into `declaring for Jesus`? Douglas Kennedy spent a long hot summer cruising through that expanse of the American South known as ` The Bible Belt` exploring that question. In a remarkable journey into one of the strangest corners of the United States, Kennedy finds himself spending time in Miami with a one-time member of the Mafia turned charismatic preacher, discovering Christian heavy metal music in Nashville, & visiting Death Row in South Carolina with an evangelist who ministers to the condemned. Repeatedly discovering the extraordinary within the ordinary, IN GOD`S COUNTRY is a profound, yet brilliantly entertaining exploration of life in late twentieth century America. ...

In just over a hundred years-from the death of Muhammad in 632 to the beginning of the Abbasid Caliphate in 750-the followers of the Prophet swept across the whole of the Middle East, North Africa, & Spain. Their armies threatened states as far afield as the Franks in Western Europe & the Tang Empire in China. The conquered territory was larger than the Roman Empire at its greatest expansion, & it was claimed for the Arabs in roughly half the time. How this collection of Arabian tribes was able to engulf so many empires, states, & armies in such a short period of time is a question that has perplexed historians for centuries. Most recent popular accounts have been based almost solely on the early Muslim sources, which were composed centuries later for the purpose of demonstrating that God had chosen the Arabs as his vehicle for spreading Islam throughout the world. In this ground-breaking new history, distinguished Middle East expert Robert G. Hoyland assimilates not only the rich biographical & geographical information of the early Muslim sources but also the many non-Arabic sources, contemporaneous or near-contemporaneous with the conquests. The story of the conquests traditionally begins with the revelation of Islam to Muhammad. In God`s Path, however, begins with a broad picture of the Late Antique world prior to the Prophet`s arrival, a world dominated by the two superpowers of Byzantium & Sasanian Persia, ”the two eyes of the world.” In between these empires, in western (Saudi) Arabia, emerged a distinct Arab identity, which helped weld its members into a formidable fighting force. The Arabs are the principal actors in this drama yet, as Hoyland shows, the peoples along the edges of Byzantium & Persia-the Khazars, Bulgars, Avars, & Turks-also played important roles in the remaking of the old world order. The new faith propagated by Muhammad & his successors made it possible for many of the conquered peoples to join the Arabs in creating the first Islamic Empire. Well-paced & accessible, In God`s Path presents a pioneering new narrative of one the great transformational periods in all of history. ...

The future flashed before my eyes in all its pre-ordained banality. Embarrassment, at first, to the exclusion of all other feelings. But embarrassment curled at the edges with a weariness.. .I got a joke in. ` So
- we`d better get cooking the meth, ` I said to the Poet. In August 2014, Jenny Diski was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer & given `two or three years` to live. She didn`t know how to react. All responses felt scripted, laden with cliche. Being a writer, she decided to write about it (grappling with the unoriginality even of this), & also to tell a story she has not yet told: that of being taken in, aged fifteen, by the author Doris Lessing, & the subsequent fifty years of their complex relationship. In September 2014 Jenny Diski began writing in the London Review of Books, describing her experience of living with terminal cancer, examining her life & history with Doris Lessing: the fairy-tale rescue from `the bin` as a teenager, the difficulties of being absorbed into an unfamiliar family & the influence this had on her. Swooping from one memory to the next
- alighting on the hysterical battlefield of her parental home, her expulsion from school, stacking shelves in Banbury & the drug-taking twenty-something in & out of psychiatric hospitals, Diski paints a portrait of two extraordinary writers
- Lessing & herself. From one of our most original voices comes a book like no other: a cerebral, witty, dazzlingly candid masterpiece about an uneasy relationship; about memory & writing, ingratitude & anger; about living with illness & facing death.


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Martin Bell`s was BBC TV`s principal correspondent during the war in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995. The original version of this passionate & personal account of the conflict was written while the war was still going on, some of it late at night in the Holiday Inn in Sarajevo. In Harm`s Way is not only about the progress of the war; it is about its origins, how it began & how it could have been avoided; it is about the human costs of war in which all the peoples of Bosnia became the victims; it is about a massive failure by the United Nations, beginning with an inadequate peace-keeping mandate & ending with the Srebrenica massacre; & it is about the practices of war reporting itself. & it is about the journalists in the thick of it, the oddballs & the idealists, the wild adventurers & hardened professionals who were caught up in this war & tried to make some sense of it. In the introduction to this new edition, marking the twentieth anniversary of the outbreak of hostilities, Martin Bell reflects on the impact of what he calls the most consequential war of our time. ...

A tragic family event reveals devastating news that rips apart Bella`s comfortable existence. Embarking on a personal journey to uncover the truth, she faces a series of traumatic discoveries that take her to the ruggedly beautiful Cornish coast, where hidden truths, past betrayals & a 25-year-old mystery threaten not just her identity, but her life. Chilling, complex & profoundly moving, In Her Wake is a gripping psychological thriller that questions the nature of family
- & reminds us that sometimes the most shocking crimes are committed closest to home.
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In his own words Dougal Haston covers the years from his childhood in Scotl&, where his love of climbing was first sparked, through to his development into perhaps the most formidable climber of his generation; his reputation was forged by his successful ascents of familiar peaks by unfamiliar routes (of which the most famous was the Eiger Direct). Infused throughout with his passion for climbing & his great determination to succeed, ” In High Places” is a compelling & eye-opening portrait of the climber as a young man & a must read for all those with an interest in mountaineering. ...

IN HIS OWN WORDS is a selection of Nelson Mandela`s speeches, providing a lively, memorable profile of his lifelong commitment to freedom & reconciliation, democracy, & the flourishing of all the people of South Africa, Africa & the world. Arranged thematically, each section of speeches is introduced by a leading figure, such as Kofi Annan & Desmond Tutu. In these introductory essays, the authors pay tribute to Nelson Mandela`s achievements, animating their accounts with personal memories, stories & reflections. Covering a range of topics of our times
- struggle & reconciliation, freedom, religion & nation building, culture, education & health, children & development
- the book also features Mandela`s own tributes to South African heroes such as Steve Biko, Oliver Tambo & Walter Sisulu.

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Lahore: the Mughal city of gardens. At once contemporary & ancient, Lahore is full of hidden gems waiting to be discovered. In Lahore is your insider`s guide to help you make the most of your visit.
- Walk the back alleys of one of the oldest walled cities in the world.
- Visit the tombs, mosques & gardens of Mughal emperors.
- Experience the cuisine & hospitality of Punjab. Plus all you need to know about how to travel, security, where to stay, arts, culture, music, shopping, activities & much more!


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