Deserts are extreme environments. Occupying about 20 per cent of the world`s land surface, they are subject to some of the harshest conditions on the planet, being places of minimal rainfall & epic temperatures, from searing heat to intense cold. Rock, sand & gravel provide the stark physical context. Yet deserts are far from the bleak & lifeless wastelands of popular perception, being surprisingly diverse in terms of wildlife. From elephants to tiny lichens, desert flora & fauna are highly specialized, demonstrating a vast range of adaptations that are designed to cope with the demanding environment & exploit fully the ecological niches on offer. In ” The Desert”, James Parry explores some the world`s last great desert wildernesses & reveals the fascinating range of wildlife they support. This book looks at various types of desert, at their different ecosystems & at the diverse features & types of wildlife that make them such exciting places to visit. ...

Once considered the `dark continent` in the imagination of the West, Africa is now recognized as the cradle of mankind. It is a land of overwhelming complexity & wealth, both culturally & geographically. Yet its formidable deserts remain largely unexplored. Geographer & photographer Michael Martin`s images of these enormous, apparently barren, stretches of land reveal the true cultural & spiritual heritage of Africa. Travelling through the Sahara, the volcanic deserts of the Rift Valley, the Kalahari & the Namib, he explores the lives of the varied peoples who eke out their existence in these inhospitable regions: the nomadic Bororo between Senegal & Chad, who rely primarily on cattle herding; the Tuareg of the Sahara & the Sahel, nomadic goat herders who refer to themselves as the `free people; & the Tubu, both herders & traders, who occupy the Tibesti mountain range. During his journey, Martin unveils the characteristic features of desert life, such as the Tarhalamt, the last functioning salt caravan of the Sahara which sets out after the rainy season. Without visible landmarks to guide him, the Madugu, or leader of the caravan, relies on the position of the sun, the structure of the sand or the fast-fading traces of former caravans to find his way. He has learned to recognize the individual features of each `erg`, those huge crescent-shaped dunes that dominate the Sahara, & to value the camel, the ship of the desert, the only beast capable of accompanying man, himself wholly unadapted to desert life, into those regions where temperatures suddenly rise & fall & where water is in short supply. Michael Martin`s vibrant photographs reveal that desert sands, far from being barren & empty, are the oldest arenas of life`s struggle against the elements. Those who choose to live there partake of the landscape`s unique beauty & majesty. They appear to Western eyes as the guardians of an inner wealth that shines forth all the more when set against the material abundance that so often compensates for the spiritual privation of today`s industrialized world. ...

They don`t require allergy shots, expensive pet sitters, or diamond-studded collars. Desktop fish are the perfect pets & will always be there to entertain you, even if you forget to feed them for months on end! Following on the heels of underwater mania following Finding Nemo & Shark Tales, & the popularity of virtual pets, this desktop aquarium will be a fun addition to the workplace. It also makes a great gift for animal lovers. Kit

Includes:: two magnetic fish, magnetic wand to make fish swim, plant, gravel, 4 playful backgrounds, & 32-page booklet.

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For hundreds of years, the stone heads of Easter Island have sat perched on their platforms, gazing mystically out over land & sea. Now the impressive Pacific site can be viewed on a desktop near you! This kit comes with four miniature replicas of stone heads of Easter Island in various shapes & sizes. One can stare back above a computer screen like a micromanaging boss, while others act as paperweights or mesmerize co-workers to turn away each time they reach for your candy dish. Those heads will never let a cubicle or office feel lonely again! ...

` The Destroyers is a smart, sophisticated literary thriller; for all its originality, it invokes the shades of Lawrence Durrell & Graham Greene` Jay Mc Inerney, author of Bright, Precious Days When Charlie & I were young, we played a game called Destroyers... We were sharpening our instincts, jettisoning attachments. We were honing strategies for survival.. . Ian Bledsoe is on the run, broke & humiliated, fleeing the emotional & financial fallout of his father`s death. His childhood friend Charlie
- rich, exuberant & basking in life on the Greek island of Patmos
- is his last hope. At first, Patmos is like a dream
- sun-soaked days on Charlie`s yacht & the reappearance of a girlfriend from Ian`s past
- & Charlie readily offers the lifeline he desperately needs. But, like Charlie himself, this beautiful island conceals a darkness beneath. When he vanishes leaving behind his murky business affairs, Ian finds himself caught in a terrifying labyrinth of deceits. As boys, the pair played a game called Destroyers
- a game, he now realizes, they may never have stopped playing. Expansive, vivid & suspenseful, in the vein of Donna Tartt`s The Goldfinch, The Destroyers is a mesmerizing drama of power & fate, fathers & sons, self-invention & self-deception. ` Equal parts Graham Greene, Patricia Highsmith & F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Destroyers is at once lyrical & suspenseful, thoughtful & riveting` Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You ` The Destroyers manages to be both fast-paced & contemplative, an excellent entertainment & also something more lasting, a haunting meditation on friendship & desperation` Guardian, Best Holiday Reads of 2017




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There once was a dog with a keen sense of smell. She was known far & wide as Detective Dog Nell. Peter`s dog Nell has an amazing sense of smell. Whether it`s finding a lost shoe or discovering who did a poo on the new gravel path, her ever-sniffing nose is always hard at work. But Nell has other talents too. Every Monday she goes to school with Peter & listens to children read. So who better to have on hand when they arrive one morning to discover that the school`s books have all disappeared! Who could have taken them? & why? There`s only one dog for the job... & Detective Dog Nell is ready to sniff out the culprit! Written by the brilliant Julia Donaldson & stunningly illustrated by the multi-talented illustrator & printmaker Sara Ogilvie, The Detective Dog is a fast-paced celebration of books, reading, libraries, & the relationship between a little boy & his rather special dog. ...

There once was a dog with a keen sense of smell. She was known far & wide as Detective Dog Nell. Peter`s dog Nell has an amazing sense of smell. Whether it`s finding a lost shoe or discovering who did a poo on the new gravel path, her ever-sniffing nose is always hard at work. But Nell has other talents too. Every Monday she goes to school with Peter & listens to children read. So who better to have on hand when they arrive one morning to discover that the school`s books have all disappeared! Who could have taken them? & why? There`s only one dog for the job... & Detective Dog Nell is ready to sniff out the culprit! Written by the brilliant Julia Donaldson & stunningly illustrated by the multi-talented illustrator & printmaker Sara Ogilvie, The Detective Dog is a fast-paced celebration of books, reading, libraries, & the relationship between a little boy & his rather special dog. ...

Join Detective Dog Nell, her owner Peter & all his friends in this must-have sticker book based on the bestselling picture book The Detective Dog by Julia Donaldson & Sara Oglivie. Who`s been stealing all the children`s books? Help solve the mystery as you join in with colouring pencils & stickers! Packed with games, activities & over four hundred stickers, The Detective Dog Sticker Book is perfect for journeys, rainy days & school holidays
- a great gift for any child.
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This is the winner of the Independent foreign fiction prize. ”A wonderful novel. Wise & generous to a fault of all our human failings & frailties”. (Lloyd Jones, author of Mister Pip). A Dutch woman rents a remote farm in rural Wales. She says her name is Emilie. She has left her husb&, having confessed to an affair. In Amsterdam, her stunned husband forms a strange partnership with a detective who agrees to help him trace her. They board the ferry to Hull on Christmas Eve. Back on the farm, a young man out walking with his dog injures himself & stays the night, then ends up staying longer. Yet something is deeply wrong. Does he know what he is getting himself into? & what will happen when her husband & the detective arrive? ...

Willard is a tormented veteran of the carnage in the South Pacific who can`t save his beautiful wife, Charlotte, from a slow death by cancer no matter how much sacrificial blood he pours on his `prayer log`. Carl & Sandy Henderson, a husb&-&-wife team of serial killers, trawl America`s highways searching for suitable models to photograph & exterminate. The spider-handling preacher Roy & his crippled virtuoso-guitar-playing sidekick are running from the law. & caught in the middle of all this is Arvin, Willard & Charlotte`s orphaned son, who grows up to be a good but also violent man in his own right. ...