This text traces the origin & development of this island from its volcanic formation to 1994. The author interweaves the island`s history with geography, ecology, folklore & social custom to inform the reader about both Dominica & Caribbean history as a whole. ...

Despite its significance in the history of Spanish colonialism, the Dominican Republic is familiar to most outsiders through only a few elements of its past & culture. Non-Dominicans may be aware that the country shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti & that it is where Christopher Columbus chose to build a colony. Some may know that the country produces talented baseball players & musicians; others that it is a prime destination for beach vacations. Little else about the Dominican Republic is common knowledge outside its borders. This Reader seeks to change that. It provides an introduction to the history, politics, & culture of the country from precolonial times into the early twenty-first century. Among the volume`s 118 selections are essays, speeches, journalism, songs, poems, legal documents, testimonials, & short stories, as well as several interviews conducted especially for this Reader. Many of the selections have been translated into English for the first time. All of them are preceded by brief introductions written by the editors. The volume`s eighty-five illustrations, ten of which appear in colour, include maps, paintings, & photos of architecture, statues, famous figures, & Dominicans going about their everyday lives. ...

Will Marion has two perfect kidneys. His daughters aren`t so lucky. Question is: which one should he save? Will`s 47. His wife bailed out when the twins were in nappies & hasn`t been seen since. He coped OK by himself at first, giving Georgie & Kay all the love he could, working in a boring admin job to support them. Just after the twins turn sixteen, Georgie suffers kidney failure & is placed on dialysis. Her type is rare, & Will immediately offers to donate an organ. Without a transplant, she would probably never see adulthood. So far so good. But then Kay gets sick. She`s also sixteen. Just as precious. Her kidney type just as rare. Time is critical, & he has to make a decision. Should he buy a kidney
- be an organ tourist? Should he save one child? If so, which one? Should he sacrifice himself? Or is there a fourth solution
- one so terrible it has never even crossed his mind?

...

Ever been so bored at work that your brain began to dribble out of your ears? Ever considered stapling yourself to the floor to get out of going to another mind-numbing meeting? Well, heres a way to brighten up those dull days & unmotivated moments that are an essential part of office life. This book will help you plot your way into your colleagues good books & vicariously vent your frustration on your boss, tippex over your troubles & scrawl your way to success all from the comfort of your own office chair. Healthier than a cigarette break & more comforting than a large croissant, it`ll help you take on the daily grind armed with nothing more than a sense of humour, a wild imagination & a few bits of stationery. Your inner child will be endlessly entertained, & your co-workers will be envious in the extreme. ...

A young writer, struggling for success, employs an elderly woman called Emerence to be her housekeeper. From their first encounter it is clear that Emerence is no ordinary maid. Although everyone in the neighbourhood knows & respects her, no one knows anything about her private life or has ever crossed her threshold. Only a great drama in the writer`s life prompts Emerence to unveil glimpses of her traumatic past
- a past which sheds light on her peculiar behaviour. ” The Door” brilliantly evokes the development of the bond between these two very different women, & the tragic ending to their relationship.
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In The Doorbells of Florence: Fictional Stories & Photographs, writer & photographer Andrew Losowsky captured the sometimes insignificant, sometimes fascinating doorbells of Florence in a whimsical light, both through pictures & fiction. Imagining the stories of who might have answered if he rang, hidden worlds emerge out of each picture, capturing the spirit of peeking inside the secrets, habits, & desires of a city's inhabitants. Fated loves, chance encounters, invented languages, false maps, & mysteries beneath the floorboards. Laying bare a rarely observed side of Florence, each photo is a perfect match for its charming story, balancing the antique appeal of the city with the contemporary, gritty realities of a modern city. Travellers, Italy lovers, & imaginative wanderers will delight in this elegant, intriguing collection, which features h&-drawn lettering & a silk-screened cover. ...

Although it

Includes:: many sandy beaches & picturesque coastal towns, the most spectacular feature of the

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Mma Ramotswe & Mma Makutsi are called to a safari lodge in Botswana`s Okavango Delta to carry out a delicate mission on behalf of a former guest. The Okavango makes Precious appreciate once again the beauty of her homeland: it is a paradise of teeming wildlife, majestic grasslands & sparkling water. However, it is also home to rival safari operators, fearsome crocodiles & disgruntled hippopotamuses. What`s more, Mma Makutsi still does not have a date for her wedding to Phuti Radiphuti & is feeling rather tetchy herself. But Precious knows that with a little patience, just as the wide river will gently make its way round any obstacle, so will everything work out for the best in the end. ...

Widely considered the greatest work by the foremost Brazilian author of the twentieth century, ” The Double Death of Quincas Water-Bray” comes to Penguin Classics in a new translation by the dean of Portuguese-language translators, Gregory Rabassa. It tells the story of Joaquim Soares da Cunha, who drops dead after he abandons his life of upstanding citizenship to assume the identity of Quincas Water-Bray, a ”champion drunk” & bum who is whisked along on a postmortem journey that climaxes in his loss at sea. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1, 700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history & across genres & disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions & notes by distinguished scholars & contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. ...

Watching a rented video, Tertuliano Maximo Afonso is shocked to notice that one of the actors is identical to him in every physical detail. He embarks on a secret quest to find his double & sets in motion a train of events that he cannot control. Saramago`s novel explores the nature of individuality & examines the fear & insecurity that arise when our singularity comes under threat, when even a wife cannot tell the original from the imposter... ...