It is spring 1839, & almost 20, 000 men from Britain & the East India Company are preparing to invade Afghanistan for the first time. Their objective? To return Shah Shuja ul-Mulk to the throne. Entering Afghanistan through its famously-tricky mountain passes, the British achieved their aim swiftly. But now, after effectively occupying the country for two years, a violent uprising is ensuing as Afghans answer the call for jihad. The rebellion gave rise to the First Anglo-Afghan War; a conflict that's regarded as Britain's worst military defeat of the 19th century. In a campaign that would have uncomfortable parallels in the next two centuries, one of the world's most powerful & best-equipped armies had been defeated by determined local tribesman. Return of a King is award-winning author & historian William Dalrymple's wonderfully-researched account of the First Afghan War, told through those on both sides of the front line. One of our Top Reads for 2013, this is a story, of Britain's most notorious imperial disaster, that deserves to be re-told. Add this to your cart today! ...

In the spring of 1839, the British invaded Afghanistan for the first time. Led by lancers in scarlet cloaks & plumed shakos, nearly 20, 000 British & East India Company troops poured through the high mountain passes & re-established on the throne Shah Shuja ul-Mulk. On the way in, the British faced little resistance. But after two years of occupation, the Afghan people rose in answer to the call for jihad & the country exploded into violent rebellion. The First Anglo-Afghan War ended in Britain`s greatest military humiliation of the nineteenth century: an entire army of the then most powerful nation in the world ambushed in retreat & utterly routed by poorly equipped tribesmen. Shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize 2013, Return of a King is the definitive analysis of the First Afghan War, told through the lives of unforgettable characters on all sides & using for the first time contemporary Afghan accounts of the conflict. Prize-winning & bestselling historian William Dalrymple`s masterful retelling of Britain`s greatest imperial disaster is a powerful & important parable of colonial ambition & cultural collision, folly & hubris, for our times. ...

` Holmes`, I cried`. Is it really you? Can it indeed be that you are alive? Is it possible that you succeeded in climbing out of that awful abyss?` Missing, presumed dead, for three years, Sherlock Holmes returns triumphantly to his dear companion Dr Watson. & not before time! London has never been in more need of his extraordinary services: a murderous individual with an air gun stalks the city. Among thirteen further brilliant tales of mystery, detection & deduction, Sherlock Holmes investigates the problem of the Norwood Builder, deciphers the message of the Dancing Men, & cracks the case of the Six Napoleons. ...

Once again Mr Sherlock Holmes is free to devote his life to examining those interesting little problems which the complex life of London so plentifully presents.` Evil masterminds beware! Sherlock Holmes is back! Ten years after his supposed death in the swirling torrent of the Reichenbach Falls locked in the arms of his arch enemy Professor Moriarty, Arthur Conan Doyle agreed to pen further adventures featuring his brilliant detective. In the first story, ` The Empty House`, Holmes returns to Baker Street & his good friend Watson, explaining how he escaped from his watery grave. In creating this collection of tales, Doyle had lost none of his cunning or panache, providing Holmes with a sparkling set of mysteries to solve & a challenging set of adversaries to defeat. The potent mixture

Includes:: murder, abduction, baffling cryptograms & robbery. We are also introduced to the one of the cruellest villains in the Holmes canon, the despicable Charles Augustus Milverton. As before, Watson is the superb narrator & the magic remains unchanged & undimmed.

...

After five hundred years of colonial suppression & a brutal civil war, the Maya in Guatemala finally have a chance to live in peace. Latin America`s longest civil war ended on December 29, 1996, with a peace accord between the conservative government of President Arzu & the Marxist guerrilla group URNG. Now the Maya are searching the killing fields for their dead, rediscovering their own magnificent culture & history, & are finally free to practice their ancient religion at remote altars on mountaintops, in caves & ravines, or near waterfalls, & to begin to heal their souls. Magnum photographer Thomas Hoepker has visited Guatemala six times since 1991. He has captured many aspects of this remarkable period of transition in an array of astonishing, full-color shots that will disturb, enchant, & ultimately instruct. ...

Perfect for fans of STAR WARS or comic-book fiction such as CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS. Story & illustration are combined within this fun graphic novel. After surviving his first year at Jedi Academy, Roan thought his second year would be a breeze. He couldn`t have been more wrong. Roan feels like he`s drifting apart from his friends, & it`s only made worse when Roan discovers he`s not the amazing pilot he thought he`d be. When the school bullies take him under their wing, he decides they aren`t so bad after all
- or are they?
...

Ronald Blythe`s 1969 book ” Akenfield”
- a moving portrait of English country life told in the voices of the farmers & villagers
...

By 1910, the Antarctic was the last place on earth that had never been explored, & British naval officer Robert Scott was obsessed that an Englishman
- specifically himself
- should conquer the pole. Despite being under-funded, under-equipped & unprepared, Scott sailed south in the antiquated whaling ship, Terra Nova, in what everyone assumed would be a cracking good adventure. The expedition was made up entirely of British adventurers, gadabouts & scientists, the exception being one Canadian, Charles Seymour (Silas) Wright. Born 1887 in Toronto, Charles Wright was studying physics in Cambridge when he heard Scott was looking for a physicist to join the expedition to the pole. By the time Wright inquired, Scott had chosen a physicist for the team but was short a glaciologist. Who else but a Canadian would know about glaciers? Wright became the expedition`s glaciologist. Halfway through the rough passage to the Antarctic, Scott got word that a rival explorer, Norwegian Roald Amundsen, was also making a run for the pole & was close on their heels. What started out as a stroll to the South Pole became a race between two very determined & different men. Arriving at their base camp on Cape Evans in January 1911, Scott`s team soon discovered they were unprepared for the Antarctic, while equipment failures & food shortages compounded the hardship. For the final race to the pole, Scott stripped the team down to four men, & Wright did not make the cut. Scott reached the geographic South Pole only to find that Amundsen had beaten them by days. Bitterly disappointed, Scott & his companions returned to base camp, but were caught in a fierce Antarctic blizzard that raged for days. Too weak to pull their sleds & out of food & fuel, they froze to death. Ironically, as if to underscore the litany of errors that dogged the expedition, they perished only a few miles from a cache of food & fuel. Next spring Wright led a search party to look for the remains of Scott & his party, & it was the sharp-eyed Wright who spotted a small patch of green on a snowy landscape
- the tent containing Scott & his companions` frozen bodies. Wright returned to England & went on to do even more extraordinary things, including inventing trench wireless in WWI, & working closely with Winston Churchill, developing the technology to assist in the allied invasion of Europe in WWII which included developing the first radar installations & inventing the technology that neutralized German magnetic sea mines After a stint as naval attache to Washington, D.C., & Director of Scripps Oceanographic institute in La Jolla, California, he retired to Salt Spring Isl&, BC, passing away in 1975. Typically Canadian, Wright was modest about his accomplishments, with few Canadians aware of his amazing life & the extraordinary impact he had on the 20th century.


...

The discovery of the Chauvet Cave in December 1994 was a remarkable event. The incredible age of the paintings, which dated back 35, 000 years, & their exceptionally high quality were the source of both astonishment & admiration, & the images of mammoths, rhinoceroses, lions, bears, horses & bison have since been seen around the world. Several years ago, a team of specialists from many different disciplines, led by Jean Clottes, began the first detailed scientific study of the cave. This collaborative project has been extremely fruitful & the cave has slowly revealed many of secrets of its origins: its dating, the traces left by animals & humans, the artistic techniques that were used, & the themes of the paintings & engravings. New light has also been cast on this unique art by art historians & ethnologists. All these discoveries are published together for the first time, accompanied by numerous colour illustrations, allowing the public to share not only this new knowledge but also the thrill & fascination of looking back thousands of years into an ancient world. ...

In 1990, Henry Swain sailed his 34-foot yacht Callisto to Murmansk. He had been there once before, 45 years earlier, on a Royal Navy warship escorting American merchant vessels supplying vital aid to the Soviets. U-boats lay in wait off the Russian coast & the Luftwaffe threatened attacks from bases in Norway. The Arctic offered another hazard-ice. ...