The adventurer & artist John Castle, of mixed British & Prussian descent, was one of several foreigners commissioned by the Russian Empire to take part in the Orenburg Expedition which started in 1734. Its aims were to secure & encircle Bashkiria, to the north of present-day western Kazakhstan. The Russians planned to establish a line of forts, a trading base & centre for overseeing the Kazakhs at Orenburg at the junction of the Or & Ural (Jaik) rivers & to investigate the natural resources of the region. The Expedition attracted numerous merchants, surveyors & curious travellers. Castle volunteered to visit Khan Abulkhayir of the Lesser Kazakh Horde & to negotiate with him on behalf of the Russians. At the time Abulkhayir had been compelled, against the will of his people, to swear an oath of allegiance to Russia, & the situation with the Kazakhs remained volatile. Castle set off into virtually uncharted territory in the midst of chaos due to a major Bashkir rebellion prompted by the Orenburg Expedition. During his two-month journey he recorded his impressions of places, people & customs. Castle`s diary describes this dangerous journey, subsequent events & his return to safety. It provides information on the tense political dynamics of the time, on the ethnography, geography & natural resources of Kazakhstan & on the difficult interactions between foreign members of the Expedition & Russian officials. The diary`s rich ethnographic content, which

Includes:: first-hand observations of exorcism & divination rituals & the local administration of justice, gives clear
- & for its time extremely rare
- insights into the combined use of customary Kazakh steppe practices & Islam. It is a major historiographical source because it is written from the point of view of a foreigner & not a Russian. This book is the first English translation (by Sarah Tolley) & edition of John Castle`s Journal von der AO 1736 aus Orenburg zu dem Abul Geier Chan der Kirgis-Kaysak Tartarichen Horda
-, Riga 1784 (Journal of a Journey undertaken in AO 1736 from Orenburg to Abul Geier, Khan of the Kirgis Caysak Horde
- ). It reproduces the diary in full, with its glossary & 13 plates. These include unique illustrations of the Khan, his yurt & life on the steppe. An introduction provides the context of the Expedition, & footnotes accompany the text giving further clarifications & explanations.





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The second sophisticated & dark installment in Jake Woodhouse`s Amsterdam Quartet, featuring returning series character Inspector Jaap Rykel. A body is found on a rooftop, the dead man`s hands blowtorched, his head removed. The man tasked with tracking down the killer is Amsterdam Inspector Jaap Rykel. But as he searches the headless body for clues Rykel finds something which makes his blood run cold
- a picture of himself on the victim`s phone. & then a message from the killer reveals the location of a second mutilated corpse. It`s another day in Western Europe`s murder capital.
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Dive into the ocean to join a young turtle on a game of hide-&-seek, & learn about sea creatures & their habitat, with this beautiful, ”touch & feel” layered board book. The perfect introduction for preschool children to sea creatures & their habitats, this simple, charming story, which unfolds across a series of layered pages that increase in size, is about a turtle playing hide-&-seek with his friends, & shows different animal families as they go about their daily lives. With gently rhyming text & beautiful illustrations, the book encourages children to interact with the book & turn each page, delighting in the increasingly expansive ocean spreads. ...

The peatlands of the Outer Hebrides are half l&, half water. Their surface is a glorious tweed woven from tiny, living sphagnums rich in wildlife, but underneath is layer upon layer of dead mosses transforming into the peat. One can, with care, walk out onto them, but stop & you begin to sink into them. For time immemorial the peatlands have been places
- for humans at least
- of seasonal habitation but not of constant residence. In this book Robin A. Crawford explores the peatlands over the course of the year, explaining how they have come to be & examining how peat has been used from the Bronze Age onwards. In describing the seasonal processes of cutting, drying, stacking, storing & burning he reveals one of the key rhythms of island life, but his study goes well beyond this to include many other aspects, including the wildlife & folklore associated with these lonely, watery places. Widening his gaze to other peatlands in the country, he also reflects on the historical & cultural importance that peat has played, & continues to play
- it is still used for fuel in many rural areas & plays an essential role in whisky-making
- in the story of Scotl&.



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In the tradition of The Perfect Storm & Into Thin Air, Rachel Slade`s Into the Raging Sea is a nail-biting account of the sinking of the container ship El Faro, the crew of thirty-three who perished onboard, & the destructive forces of globalisation that put the ship in harm`s way. On October 1, 2015, Hurricane Joaquin barreled into the Bermuda Triangle & swallowed the container ship El Faro whole, resulting in one of the worst shipping disasters in decades. No one could fathom how a vessel equipped with satellite communications, a sophisticated navigation system, & cutting-edge weather forecasting could suddenly vanish
- until now. Relying on hundreds of exclusive interviews with family members & maritime experts, as well as the words of the crew members themselves
- whose conversations were captured by the ship`s data recorder
- journalist Rachel Slade unravels the mystery of the sinking of El Faro. As she recounts the final twenty-four hours onboard, Slade vividly depicts the officers` anguish & fear as they struggled to carry out Captain Michael Davidson`s increasingly bizarre commands, which, they knew, would steer them straight into the eye of the storm. Taking a hard look at America`s aging merchant marine fleet, Slade also reveals the truth about modern shipping
- a cutthroat industry plagued by razor-thin profits & ever more violent hurricanes fueled by global warming. A richly reported account of a singular tragedy, Into the Raging Sea takes us into the heart of an age-old American industry, casting new light on the hardworking crew of El Faro who paid the ultimate price in the name of profit.



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How did they do it? Find out how the greatest explorers in history pieced together the picture of our world that we now take for granted, in this dynamic unfolding cross-sections book! Join acclaimed illustrator Stephen Biesty & popular children's history writer Stewart Ross, as they themselves explore some of the boldest, most daring expeditions of all time, using fold-out pages, cross-section drawings & dramatic storytelling. Twist through the waves of the stormy North Atlantic in a Viking knarr with Leif Ericsson or burst into the stratosphere in a balloon with Auguste Piccard, cross the deserts of the Silk Road in a caravan with Marco Polo or land on the moon in the Apollo 11 lunar module... With this book, you can travel through time & space, in non-fiction that's as exciting as exploration itself! ...

Set in Italy in the summer of 1940, this trio of stories explores the relationships between the different generations caught up in the war as well as Calvino`s own experiences as a teenager. In the title story, ” Into the War”, we are given an insight into what life was really like for those too young to be conscripted into Mussolini`s army, while in ” The Avanguardisti in Menton”, Calvino & his friends take a revealingly anti-climactic trip to the garrisoned French town of Menton, the sole Italian conquest of the early months of the conflict. The final story, ”UNPA Nights”, is a touching, comic tale of friendship in a blackout, where the narrator`s imagination wanders as he roams through the seedier parts of the darkened town instead of guarding the school buildings. ” Into the War” is Calvino at his autobiographical best, combining brilliantly recollected memory with compelling wit & perfect prose. ...

The addictive new psychological thriller from the author of The Girl on the Train, the runaway Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller & global phenomenon. In the last days before her death, Nel called her sister. Jules didn`t pick up the phone, ignoring her plea for help. Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. & Jules has been dragged back to the one place she hoped she had escaped for good, to care for the teenage girl her sister left behind. But Jules is afraid. So afraid. Of her long-buried memories, of the old Mill House, of knowing that Nel would never have jumped. & most of all she`s afraid of the water, & the place they call the Drowning Pool... With the same propulsive writing & acute understanding of human instincts that captivated millions of readers around the world in her explosive debut thriller, The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins delivers an urgent, satisfying read that hinges on the stories we tell about our pasts & their power to destroy the lives we live now. ...

Just days before her sister plunged to her death, Jules ignored her call. Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. & Jules must return to her sister`s house to care for her daughter, & to face the mystery of Nel`s death. But Jules is afraid. Of her long-buried memories, of the old Mill House, of this small town that is drowning in secrecy... & of knowing that Nel would never have jumped.*****‘ Paula Hawkins does it again! Into the Water is a moody & chilling thriller that will have you madly turning the pages. A gripping, compulsive read!’ Shari Lapena, bestselling author of The Couple Next Door‘ Fans of Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train rejoice: her second novel Into the Water is even better. A brilliantly plotted & fast-paced juggernaut of a read that hurtles to a heart-stopping conclusion.’ Good Housekeeping (Book of the Month)‘A twisting whodunnit that leaves you both gratified & surprised (also the best kind)... Not just a brilliant thriller but also a furious feminist howl... ’ Stylist‘ Dark, gothic & twisty as a snake in the grass. I read it in one sitting.’ Erin Kelly, author of He Said, She Said‘ Into the Water is superb. Sinister layers, complex characters & a plot that`ll keep you guessing.’ Ali L&, author of Good Me, Bad Me ...

This is the story of Robert Falcon Scott`s Terra Nova expedition & the memorable characters, who with a band of shaggy ponies & savage dogs, followed a man they trusted into the unknown. Battling storms at sea, impenetrable pack ice, man-eating whales, crevasses, blizzards, bad food, extreme temperatures, & equal measures of hunger, agony & snow blindness, the team pushes on against all odds. But will the weather hold? Will their rations be adequate? How will they know when they get there? & who invited the Norwegians? Into the White will leave you on the edge of your seat, hoping against hope that Scott & his men just might survive their Antarctic ordeal & live to tell the tale. ...