The Architect`s Apprentice is a dazzling & intricate tale from Elif Shafak, bestselling author of The Bastard of Istanbul. ` There were six of us: the master, the apprentices & the white elephant. We built everything together...` Sixteenth century Istanbul: a stowaway arrives in the city bearing an extraordinary gift for the Sultan. The boy is utterly alone in a foreign l&, with no worldly possessions to his name except Chota, a rare white elephant destined for the palace menagerie. So begins an epic adventure that will see young Jahan rise from lowly origins to the highest ranks of the Sultan`s court. Along the way he will meet deceitful courtiers & false friends, gypsies, animal tamers, & the beautiful, mischievous Princess Mihrimah. He will journey on Chota`s back to the furthest corners of the Sultan`s kingdom & back again. & one day he will catch the eye of the royal architect, Sinan, a chance encounter destined to change Jahan`s fortunes forever. Filled with all the colour of the Ottoman Empire, when Istanbul was the teeming centre of civilisation, The Architect`s Apprentice is a magical, sweeping tale of one boy & his elephant caught up in a world of wonder & danger. ”A gorgeous picture of a city teeming with secrets, intrigue & romance.” (The Times). ” Shafak`s most ambitious novel yet her best
- generous & imaginative.” (Independent). ” Exuberant, epic & comic, fantastical & realistic...like all good stories it conveys deeper meanings about human experience.” (Financial Times). ” Fascinating. A vigorous evocation of the Ottoman Empire at the height of its power.” (Sunday Times). ” Intricate, multi-layered, resplendent, vividly evoked, beautifully written.” (Observer). ” Sumptuous, absorbing, moving.” (Independent on Sunday).
...

Go behind the scenes of J. K. Rowling`s magical universe of creatures & wizards in this exciting full-colour companion volume to Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Newt, Tina, Queenie, & Jacob, the beloved heroes of Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them, are back! In this second adventure, they`re joined by fan favourites from the Harry Potter universe, including Albus Dumbledore, Nicolas Flamel, & the villainous Gellert Grindelwald. Officially licensed by Warner Bros. Consumer Products & designed by Mina Lima
- the creative force behind the graphics & many of the props for the first Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them as well as the Harry Potter films
- this authorised tie-in compendium delivers a rich & unique `making of` experience for fans of all ages. This keepsake treasury offers an imaginative, close-up look at Newt Scamander & his colourful trove of cohorts
- beasts & wizards alike
- as they face off against the evil forces of Gellert Grindelwald, one of the world`s most powerful dark wizards, in a story that travels from New York City to London & onto Paris. Brimming with film-making secrets, full-colour artwork, & stories from the cast & crew, this magnificent book is modelled after a special item from the movie, & features removable facsimile reproductions of props & other materials from the movie, along with some very special effects. A tribute to moviemaking magic, it is an essential for every Wizarding World fan, aspiring concept artists & designers, & cinema buffs.



...

It is Moscow, in 1939. The great author Isaac Babel is spending his last days in the infamous Lubyanka prison, forbidden to write. His final works have been consigned to the young archivist Pavel Dubrov, who must destroy them. But Pavel makes a reckless decision in the face of a vast bureaucracy of evil: he will save the stories of the writer he so admires, whatever the cost. ...

The Arctic
- A History, by Richard Vaughan, focuses on the human inhabitants of the Arctic
- a place that’s neither a continent

...

The Arctic
- An Anthology, edited by Elizabeth Kolbert, features writers as diverse as Fridtjof Nansen, Barry Lopez & Jules
...

The Arctic Guide presents the traveler & naturalist with a portable, authoritative guide to the flora & fauna of earth`s northernmost region. Featuring superb colour illustrations, this one-of-a-kind book covers the complete spectrum of wildlife--more than 800 species of plants, fishes, butterflies, birds, & mammals--that inhabit the Arctic`s polar deserts, tundra, taiga, sea ice, & oceans. It can be used anywhere in the entire Holarctic region, including Norway`s Svalbard archipelago, Siberia, the Russian Far East, islands of the Bering Sea, Alaska, the Canadian Arctic, & Greenl&. Detailed species accounts describe key identification features, size, habitat, range, scientific name, & the unique characteristics that enable these organisms to survive in the extreme conditions of the Far North. A color distribution map accompanies each species account, & alternative names in German, French, Norwegian, Russian, Inuit, & Inupiaq are also provided. ...

In never-before-seen photos from the world s finest nature photographers, The Arctic introduces the reader to this region in three sections the land & sea, the rich biodiversity, & the native peoples & explores the challenges facing each in its rapidly changing environment. While celebrated in this volume, these stunning images are a dramatic & timely demonstration of the constant transformation of the Arctic at a most critical time. With accompanying essays based on real-time experiences by a National Geographic explorer, The Arctic celebrates the region s beauty inspiring dreams of travel while simultaneously sounding a call to action to save this distant world that affects each of us in countless ways. These photo-filled pages capture not only the massive sheets of ice glowing under the midnight sun, but also the Arctic s rich variety of other wildlife. Also featured are the many indigenous Inuit communities who maintain their traditional way of life amid this stunning & harsh natural setting. ...

The real-life mystery featuring the two men
- Joseph Bell & Henry Littlejohn
- who inspired the creation of Sherlock Holmes.

...

“ The Argentina Reader: History, Culture, Politics” is an invaluable resource for those interested in learning about Argentine history & culture, whether in the classroom or in preparation for travel in Argentina. Excessively European, refreshingly European, not as European as it looks, struggling to overcome a delusion that it is European. Argentina
- in all its complexity
- has often been obscured by variations of the ”like Europe & not like the rest of Latin America” cliché. “ The Argentina Reader” deliberately breaks from that viewpoint. This essential introduction to Argentina’s history, culture, & society provides a richer, more comprehensive look at one of the most paradoxical of Latin American nations: a nation that used to be among the richest in the world, with the largest middle class in Latin America, yet one that entered the twenty-first century with its economy in shambles & its citizenry seething with frustration. This diverse collection, edited by Gabriela Nouzeilles & Graciela Montaldo, brings together songs, articles, comic strips, scholarly essays, poems, & short stories. Most pieces are by Argentines. More than forty of the texts have never before appeared in English. The volume also contains photographs from Argentina’s National Archives & images of artwork by some of the country’s most talented painters & sculptors. Many selections deal with the history of indigenous Argentines, workers, women, blacks, & other groups often ignored in descriptions of the country. At the same time, the book

Includes:: excerpts by or about such major political figures as José de San Martín & Juan Perón. Pieces from literary & social figures virtually unknown in the United States appear alongside those by more well-known writers such as Jorge Luis Borges, Ricardo Piglia, & Julio Cortázar.“ The Argentina Reader” covers the Spanish colonial regime; the years of nation building following Argentina’s independence from Spain in 1810; & the sweeping progress of economic growth & cultural change that made Argentina, by the turn of the twentieth century, the most modern country in Latin America. The bulk of the collection focuses on the twentieth century: on the popular movements that enabled Peronism & the revolutionary dreams of the 1960s & 1970s; on the dictatorship from 1976 to 1983 & the accompanying culture of terror & resistance; &, finally, on the contradictory & disconcerting tendencies unleashed by the principles of neoliberalism & the new global economy. The book also

Includes:: a list of suggestions for further reading. It is a highly readable book; do not be put off by the sheer size of it.“[ It is] impossible to find a better introduction to the labyrinth, enigma, & delight that is Argentina, from the first sightings to the latest curses. Splendid & indispensable!” _ Ariel Dorfman_* About the editors:** Gabriela Nouzeilles* is Assistant Professor of Romance Studies at Duke University.* Graciela Montaldo* is Professor of Languages & Literatures at the Universidad Simón Bolívar.





...

In the bleakest years of the Second World War when it appeared that nothing could slow the advance of the German army, Hitler set his sights on the Mediterranean island of Crete, the ideal staging ground for domination of the Middle East. But German command had not counted on the strength of the Cretan resistance or the eccentric band of British intelligence officers who would stand in their way, conducting audacious sabotage operations in the very shadow of the Nazi occupation force. The Ariadne Objective tells the remarkable story of the secret war on Crete from the perspective of these amateur soldiers who found themselves serving because, as one of them put it, they had made `the obsolete choice of Greek at school`. John Pendlebury, a swashbuckling archaeologist with a glass eye & a swordstick; Xan Fielding, a writer who would later produce the English translations of books like Bridge on the River Kwai & Planet of the Apes; Sandy Rendel, a future Times reporter, who prided himself on a disguise that left him looking more ragged & fierce than the Cretans he fought alongside; & Patrick Leigh Fermor, the future travel-writing luminary who, as a teenager in the early 1930s, walked across Europe, a continent already beginning to feel the effects of Hitler`s rise to power. Having infiltrated occupied Crete, these British gentleman spies teamed with Cretan partisans to carry out a cunning plan to disrupt Nazi manoeuvres, culminating in a daring, high-risk plot to abduct the island`s German commander. In this thrilling & little known episode of Second World War history, Wes Davis paints a brilliant portrait of some extraordinary characters & tells a story of triumph against all the odds. ...