With startling speed, Spanish conquistadors invaded hundreds of Native American kingdoms, took over the mighty empires of the Aztecs & Incas, & initiated an unprecedented redistribution of the world`s resources & balance of power. They changed the course of history, but the myth they established was even stranger than their real achievements. This Very Short Introduction deploys the latest scholarship to shatter & replace the traditional narrative. Chapters explore New World civilizations prior to the invasions, the genesis of conquistador culture on both sides of the Atlantic, the roles black Africans & Native Americans played & the consequences of the invasions. The book reveals who the conquistadors were & what made their adventures possible. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, & enthusiasm to make interesting & challenging topics highly readable. ...

Nadine Gordimer’s The Conservationist is a piece of fiction that feels very real, taking place in a South Africa where unexpected upheavals are becoming an expected evil. Mehring is rich: he has all the privileges & possessions that South Africa has to offer, but his possessions refuse to remain objects. His wife, son & mistress leave him; his foreman & workers become increasingly indifferent to his stewardship; even the land rises up, as drought, then flood, destroy his farm. As the upheaval in Mehring’s world increasingly resembles that in the country as a whole, it becomes clear that only a seismic shift in ideas & concrete action can avert annihilation. A winner of the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature, where she was recognised as a woman “who through her magnificent writing has been of very great benefit to humanity”, Gordimer shows us once again why she is such an effective moral, racial, & political activist. ...

Kenji Tanabe finds maps easier to read than people. At the elite Tokyo gallery where he works, he sells antique maps by selling the stories that he sees within their traces: their contribution to progress, their dramatic illustrations, their exquisite compasses. But no compass or cartography can guide him through the events that will follow the sudden & unexpected offer of a job in America. There, Theodora Appel runs a company that is more like a family. Brilliantly successful, beguilingly secretive, she gradually initiates Kenji into her rarefied world. Only someone like him
- quiet, intensely committed & discreet
- could be allowed to see beneath the surface to what his employer is hiding. Theodora has never recovered from the death of her lover, & her obsession to reclaim the past threatens them all. Moving across countries & cultures, The Consolation of Maps charts an attempt to understand the tide of history, the geography of people & the boundless territory of loss.

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How did we get here? Why are things as they are? Where are we going? What does it all mean? Is there an ultimate purpose to our existence, or is what we can see around us just the result of a horrible accident, or a sublime one? The Consolations of Physics is an eloquent manifesto for physics. In an age where uncertainty & division is rife, Tim Radford, science editor of the Guardian for twenty-five years, turns to the wonders of the universe for consolation. From the launch of the Voyager spacecraft & how it furthered our understanding of planets, stars & galaxies to the planet composed entirely of diamond & graphite & the sound of a blacksmith`s anvil; from the hole NASA drilled in the heavens to the discovery of the Higgs Boson & the endeavours to prove the Big Bang, The Consolations of Physics will guide you from a tiny particle to the marvels of outer space. ...

Frightening, heartbreaking & exquisitely calibrated, The Constant Gardener is a profoundly moving story of a man ennobled by his wife`s tragic murder, & a magnificent exploration of the dark side of unbridled capitalism. Le Carre`s record-breaking 500, 000 copy international bestseller now comes to the big screen. Directed by critically acclaimed Fernando Meirelles (” City of God”), with an all-star cast featuring Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Pete Postlethwaite & Bill Nighy, & shot on location in Berlin, Kenya & the UK, ” The Constant Gardener” will be the film tie-in of the year. ...

Enshrining the fundamental rights & freedoms of its citizens in law, & curbing the power of those who rule them, the US constitution is one of the most significant documents in the history of democracy. New to Penguin`s Little Black Classics series. ...

In 1787... We were given the right to practice the religion of our choice. We were given the right to say what we wanted without persecution. It was written that our house & property were secure from unreasonable search & seizure. We were given the right to a public trial. Fifty-five men we will never know sat in a sweltering room & fought for us. We were given our rights as citizens of the United States. Every second fall, as we return again to the ballot box to decide the course of our country`s leadership, every voter must find their way back to that room in Philadelphia. Welcome Books is proud to provide a map. The Constitution of the United States of America, inscribed & illustrated by the master calligrapher, Sam Fink, brings to life the issues underlying the triumphs of this abiding document. Originally published in pen & ink for Random House in 1987, Mr. Fink has gone back to his original black-&-white art & painted it anew, created a full-color masterpiece. The result is glorious. Each amendment, each article, each word so thoughtfully placed in The Constitution has been given Mr. Fink`s profound touch. With a powerful intelligence & a wonderful sense of humor, he has provided us with an entry point into this complex document, allowing us to read it with greater ease & understanding. As well as a trade edition, Welcome Books is honored to present a full-color limited edition of 64 loose folios, each 15” x 22, ” exquisitely designed & produced--matching in its manufacture the stunning quality of Mr. Fink`s ambition & the gravitas of the original document. In 1787, we were entrusted with our most important living document, The Constitution of the United States of America. Have we kept it safe? To answer this, we must begin by reading it, each & every one of us--so that we may claim our own intimate knowledge of its content; so that we may never forget its tenets; so that we may remember the kind of world we want to live in. This, Sam Fink, in his direct & unadorned way, respectful & loving, helps us do. ...

Award-winning writer Paul Theroux takes us on a journey through small town Malaysia through the eyes of the exuberant Spencer Savage in his breathtaking novel ” The Consul`s File”. Spencer Savage, a young American consul, is posted to Ayer Hitam, a small Malaysian town, in the 1970s. Told to close down this remote outpost in the sweltering jungle, he instead finds himself drawn to the many characters he meets among the Malays, Indians, Japanese, Chinese & the clubbable expat Brits. Through his eyes we see the rich tapestry of multi-ethnic life in post-colonial Malaysia, from adultery to murder, from ghost stories to the murky waters of diplomatic politics. It is a brilliant portrait of a vanished time, a lost landscape & scattered people. ”A cool & witty sequence...a polished & professional performance”. (” Guardian”). ” Theroux`s writing is at its most adventurous in ” The Consul`s File”. There is no book I can compare this to: Mr Theroux`s artistry is individual, serene, yet also grainy with fierce truths”. (” The Times”). American travel writer Paul Theroux is known for the rich descriptions of people & places that is often streaked with his distinctive sense of irony; his novels & collected short stories, ” My Other Life”, ” The Collected Stories”, ” My Secret History”, ” The Lower River”, ” The Stranger at the Palazzo d` Oro”, ”A Dead Hand”, ” Millroy the Magician”, ” The Elephanta Suite”, ” Saint Jack”, ” The Family Arsenal”, ” The Mosquito Coast”, & his works of non-fiction, including the iconic ” The Great Railway Bazaar” are available from Penguin. ...

When you have ingredients such as fresh, crunchy chicory, sweet sun-ripened cherry tomatoes & juicy ripe peaches, a simple approach to cooking is all you need. Spending hours over lengthy preparations only disguises the natural, fresh flavour of the food. In The Contented Cook, Xanthe Clay pares back all the effort & the fuss to show you how simplicity is key; both saving you time & allowing the quality of your ingredients to shine through. The simple philosophy embraces every seasonal glut & windfall of the year & rises to every occasion. A one-pot dish of Pork, Flageolets & Star Anise is perfect family food for a weekday evening, & Duck Breasts with Sweet Potato & Parsnip Crisps takes all the stress out of entertaining for a relaxed kitchen supper with friends. With recipes arranged according to seasonal ingredients, & with sections on Spring Baking, A Summer Buffet Party, An Autumn Mezze & Winter Canapes this book capitalises on nature`s bounty to provide simple & delicious solutions at every turn. ...

By sea & on the airwaves, by dollar & yuan, a contest has begun that will shape the next century. China`s rise has now entered a critical new phase, as it seeks to translate its considerable economic heft into a larger role on the world stage, challenging American supremacy. Yet he also shows why China may struggle to unseat the West
- its ambitious designs are provoking anxiety, especially in Asia, while America`s global alliances have deep roots. If Washington can adjust to a world in which it is not the sole dominant power, it may be able to retain its ability to set the global agenda.
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