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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... ...

It`s another ordinary day in Food Town & Alison Mc Nutty, peanut butter sandwich & rookie reporter, desperately needs a big break. So, when news comes in of a monster doughnut on the rampage, she`s straight on the case
- she knew there was something dodgy about the superfoods down at Lemon Labs! & boy, is that doughnut hungry! It`s EATING everything in sight & not even the police, the fire chiefs OR the military can bring it down. Whatever will President Bacon do? But when Alison discovers that the doughnut actually has a nut allergy, a plan begins to form. All they need is a plucky hero who will sacrifice themselves for the good of all food kind.. .!
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In 1992 the perfectly preserved remains of a large prehistoric, sewn plank boat were discovered buried six metres below the streets of Dover in SE Engl&. The boat has been dated toC 150 BC & is one of the most important & spectacular prehistoric wooden objects ever found in Europe. This richly illustrated book, including carefully researched reconstruction drawings, tells the dramatic story of its discovery & excavation, & the pioneering work done on its conservation, re-assembly & display in the multi-award winning Bronze Age gallery at Dover Museum. The boat was made from huge oak planks hewn into elaborate shapes that fitted together with exacting tolerances. These were made fast with an intricate system waterproofed with pads of moss held in place by thin strips of oak & a stopping made from beeswax & animal fat. Together these elements formed a broad-beamed, flat-bottomed boat of unique design, employing a woodworking tradition now long forgotten. In addition to a detailed description of the boat itself, the book explores the method of its consruction, its original form, capabilities & performance, & its function & place in Bronze Age society. It presents new & innovative techniques for the study of ancient timbers & describes an experiment in building a copy of the boat using replicas of Bronze Age tools. Far more than a straightforward technical report on an ancient vessel, this book examines in depth the implications of such a unique find for our understanding of prehistoric communities 3, 500 years ago. ...

Many theorists believed a hundred years ago, just as they did at the beginning of our twenty-first century, that the world had reached a state of economic perfection, a never before seen condition of beneficial human interdependence that would lead to universal growth & prosperity. & yet the early years of the Weimar Republic in Germany witnessed the most complete & terrifying unravelling of a major country`s financial system to have occurred in modern times. The story of the Weimar Republic`s financial crisis has a clear resonance in the second decade of the twenty-first century, when the world is anxious once more about what money is, what it means & how we can judge if its value is true. The Downfall of Money will tell anew the dramatic story of the hyperinflation that saw the once-solid German mark, worth 4.2 to the dollar in 1914, trading at over four trillion by the autumn of 1923. It is a trajectory of events uncomfortably relevant for today`s uncertain world. The Downfall of Money will reveal the real causes of the crisis, what this collapse meant to ordinary people, & also trace its connection to Germany`s subsequent catastrophic political history. By drawing on a wide range of sources & making sense for the general reader of the vast amount of specialist research that has become available in recent decades, it will provide a timely, fresh & surprising look at this chilling period in history. ...

China`s story is of warfare & violence, philosophical & political invention, shining artistic achievement & often complex & subtle relations with outsiders. Harry G. Gelber`s fascinating general history of this great nation makes sense of China`s changing relationship with the rest of the world as never before. From the invasions by steppe horsemen in 200 BC to Genghis Khan & the Mongol conquests, from the arrival of Marco Polo to the Opium Wars, from Communism to the Tiananmen Square protest, Gelber traces the path that led to China`s resurgence as a dynamic economy & a powerful international player today. ...

When a kind young boy helps a strange-looking bird, a beautiful friendship forms. But what these two friends don`t realise is that one is a young knight.. .and the other a young dragon! What will they do when they discover they are enemies & destined to FIGHT? The Dragon & the Nibblesome Knight is a bold, funny & heartwarming story from a perfect picture book pairing; the uniquely talented Elli Woollard & award-winning Benji Davies. Fairy tale fun from the creators of The Giant of Jum. ...

A riveting journey into the bizarre world of the Asian arowana or ”dragon fish” the world`s most expensive aquarium fish-reveals a surprising history with profound implications for the future of wild animals & human beings alike. A young man is murdered for his prized pet fish. An Asian tycoon buys a single specimen for $150, 000. Meanwhile, a pet detective chases smugglers through the streets of New York. Delving into an outlandish realm of obsession, paranoia, & criminality, The Dragon Behind the Glass tells the story of a fish like none other: a powerful predator dating to the age of the dinosaurs. Treasured as a status symbol believed to bring good luck, the Asian arowana is bred on high-security farms in Southeast Asia & sold by the hundreds of thousands each year. In the United States, however, it`s protected by the Endangered Species Act & illegal to bring into the country-though it remains the object of a thriving black market. From the South Bronx to Singapore, journalist Emily Voigt follows the trail of the fish, ultimately embarking on a years-long quest to find the arowana in the wild, venturing deep into some of the last remaining tropical wildernesses on earth. With a captivating blend of personal reporting, history, & science, The Dragon Behind the Glass traces our modern fascination with aquarium fish back to the era of exploration when intrepid naturalists stood on the cutting edge of modern science, discovering new & wondrous species in jungles all over the world. In an age when freshwater fish now comprise one of the most rapidly vanishing groups of animals on the planet, Voigt unearths a paradoxical truth behind the dragon fish`s rise to fame-one that calls into question how we protect the world`s rarest species. An elegant exploration of the human conquest of nature, The Dragon Behind the Glass revels in the sheer wonder of life`s diversity & lays bare our deepest desire-to hold onto what is wild. ...