Two old friends find themselves side by side on the flight from Algiers to Constantine. There is a lot of history between them, as well as bad blood. They have lived very different lives, even though they are bound by shared experiences from their youth, chief among them the Algerian War of Independence. The flight will last only an hour
- an hour during which both their stories will be told, interspersed & peppered by anecdotes about Algeria`s struggle to release itself from the French colonial grip. Rashid, the narrator, has always both admired & resented Omar, his cousin, who has become an architect, studied in Chicago, & led a successful life. Despite his success, Omar has always been on the run from the ghosts of his earlier life, ghosts that Rashid has set himself the task of exorcising. The title, The Barbary Figs, is a symbol of the `old` Algeria since their landowner grandfather once grew them on his estate. The `new` Algeria is less straightforward, & has produced far more bitter fruit.
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A fascinating narrative excursion into a bizarre episode in 19th century Ethiopian & British imperial history featuring a remote African despot & his monstrous European-built gun. On one of Addis Ababa`s main roundabouts today sits a huge recently installed mortar. This is a replica of ` Sevastopol`, a 70-ton lump of ordnance commissioned by one of the most extraordinary leaders Africa has ever produced -- King of Kings of Ethiopia, the Emperor Theodore. In 1867, as his kingdom collapsed around him, Theodore retreated to his mountain-top stronghold in Magdala. It took his army six months to haul ` Sevastopol` through the gauges & passes of the highlands. Sixty miles to the north, a British expeditionary force under Sir Robert Napier -- consisting of more than 10, 000 fighting men, at least as many followers & 20, 000 pack-animals, including a number of Indian elephants -- had been ferried to the Red Sea Coast & built a railway line through the desert. Their object: to rescue the British consul & sixty Europeans, held prisoner by the increasingly erratic Theodore, who had taken to massacring his prisoners-of-war & pitching captives over the cliffs of Magdala. The resulting fate of Theodore & his mortar forms the climax to this strange extravaganza, in which an isolated medieval kingdom came dramatically face-to-face with an ascendant Europe. Philip Marsden tells the tale with all his proven narrative skill, deep love & first hand knowledge of Ethiopia. ...

It was like a scene out of a thriller: one morning in April 2012, China`s most famous political activist-a blind, self-taught lawyer-climbed over the wall of his heavily guarded home & escaped. For days, his whereabouts remained unknown; after he turned up at the American embassy in Beijing, a furious round of high-level negotiations finally led to his release & a new life in the United States. Chen Guangcheng is a unique figure on the world stage, but his story is even more remarkable than we knew. The son of a poor farmer in rural China, blinded by illness when he was an infant, Chen was fortunate to survive a difficult childhood. But despite his disability, he was determined to educate himself & fight for the rights of his country`s poor, especially a legion of women who had endured forced sterilizations under the hated `one child` policy. Repeatedly harassed, beaten, & imprisoned by Chinese authorities, Chen was ultimately placed under house arrest. After a year of fruitless protest & increasing danger, he evaded his captors & fled to freedom. Both a riveting memoir & a revealing portrait of modern China, this passionate book tells the story of a man who has never accepted limits & always believed in the power of the human spirit to overcome any obstacle. ...

The Barefoot Navigator is an unusual & fascinating exploration of the skills of navigation employed by the ancients & transferrable to the present day. The first half of the book investigates the navigation capabilities of seafarers long before modern navigation instruments or charts became available. For example, how did the Polynesians manage to populate an area of ocean larger than North America simply by analysing clouds, currents, wind direction, sun, stars & the flight patterns of ocean birds? & how did the Vikings routinely travel between Icel&, Greenland & Scandinavia
- huge tracts of treacherous water? The second part of the book analyses how the techniques of the ancients can be employed by 21st century seafarers to supplement today`s navigational hardware
- especially in survival situations. This is a unique analysis of practical technology-free navigation, whose techniques can easily be employed by modern navigators to supplement their personal navigation skills in order to just `know` where they are. It will fascinate navigators & landlubbers alike.

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` Navigation with sextant & almanac is as user-friendly as a cornered rat.` Barefoot Navigator introducesus to a unique take on navigation
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This is the first novel by John Mc Gahern, originally published in 1963. Elizabeth Regan, after years of freedom
- & loneliness
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This globe stand is an adaptation of one of the most universally recognised furniture designs found in the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation archives. It is a modified version of the famous ` Barrel Chair` origianlly designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1903 & modified for his own personal use. The globe is cradled in a beautifully constructed wooden stand which is open at the front to give full access to the 16” bronze globe ball. This is an outstanding & unique piece of furniture that would grace any home or office. ...

This volume brings together under one cover Roddy Doyle's three acclaimed novels about the Rabbite family from Dublin. The Commitments traces the rapid rise & even more rapid fall of Jimmy Rabbite Jr's unusual soul b&. In The Snapper, Sharon Rabbite's pregnancy sparks off intense speculation among her friends & family, but she is determined to reveal the identity of the father in her own time. The Van, set during Ireland's 1990 World Cup attempt, follows the fortunes of Jimmy Sr & his friend Bimbo as they launch their travelling fish'n'chip shop on an unsuspecting Barrytown, learning much about themselves in the process. ...

The centrepiece of The Bartender`s Book: The Essential Guide for Mixologists is the cocktails section providing recipes & mixing instructions for more than 500 of the most popular mixed drinks. From Absolute Hero to Zombie & including special features on 10 classics, this is the latest entry in Carlton Books` growing drinks series, joining Scotch Whisky, Gin & Rum. It is for anybody who wants to become a barman, either professionally or just to to show off to family & friends. With sections explaining the basics of stocking a bar at home, advice on the correct conditions & temperatures to store ingredients, this book contains invaluable advice for anyone who enjoys a cocktail or two too many. ...

A quarter of a million U.S. troops are massed in over seven hundred major official overseas airbases around the world. In the past decade, the Pentagon has formulated & enacted a plan to realign, or reconfigure, its bases in keeping with new doctrines of pre-emption & intensified concern with strategic resource control, all with seemingly little concern for the surrounding geography & its inhabitants. The contributors in The Bases of Empire trace the political, environmental, & economic impact of these bases on their surrounding communities across the globe, including Latin America, Europe, & Asia, where opposition to the United States` presence has been longstanding & widespread, & is growing rapidly. Through sharp analysis & critique, The Bases of Empire illuminates the vigorous campaigns to hold the United States accountable for the damage its bases cause in allied countries as well as in war zones, & offers ways to reorient security policies in other, more humane, & truly secure directions. Contributors: Julian Aguon, Kozue Akibayashi, Ayse Gul Altinay, Tom Engelhardt, Cynthia Enloe, Joseph Gerson, David Heller, Amy Holmes, Laura Jeffery, Kyle Kajihiro, Hans Lammerant, John Lindsay-Pol&, Catherine Lutz, Katherine Mc Caffrey, Roland G. Simbulan, Suzuyo Takazato, & David Vine. ...