Graham Greene was commissioned to visit Mexico in 1938 in order to discover the state of the country & its people following the brutal anti-catholic, clerical purges of President Calles & his attempts at enforced secularisation; the result of his journey of discovery was his travel biography ‘ The Lawless Roads’. ...

The Isokon building, Lawn Road Flats, in Belsize Park on Hampstead`s lower slopes, is a remarkable building. The first modernist building in Britain to use reinforced concrete in domestic architecture, its construction demanded new building techniques. But the building was as remarkable for those who took up residence there as for the application of revolutionary building techniques. There were 32 Flats in all, & they became a haunt of some of the most prominent Soviet agents working against Britain in the 1930s & 40s, among them Arnold Deutsch, the controller of the group of Cambridge spies who came to be known as the ” Magnificent Five” after the Western movie The Magnificent Seven; the photographer Edith Tudor-Hart; & Melita Norwood, the longest-serving Soviet spy in British espionage history. However, it wasn`t only spies who were attracted to the Lawn Road Flats, the Bauhaus exiles Walter Gropius, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy & Marcel Breuer; the pre-historian V. Gordon Childe; & the poet (and Bletchley Park intelligence officer) Charles Brasch all made their way there.A number of British artists, sculptors & writers were also drawn to the Flats, among them the sculptor & painter Henry Moore; the novelist Nicholas Monsarrat; & the crime writer Agatha Christie, who wrote her only spy novel N or M? in the Flats. The Isokon building boasted its own restaurant & dining club, where many of the Flats` most famous residents rubbed shoulders with some of the most dangerous communist spies ever to operate in Britain. Agatha Christie often said that she invented her characters from what she observed going on around her. With the Kuczynskis
- probably the most successful family of spies in the history of espionage
- in residence, she would have had plenty of material. DAVID BURKE is a historian of intelligence & international relations & author of The Spy Who Came In From the Co-op: Melita Norwood & the Ending of Cold War Espionage (The Boydell Press, 2009).

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Coming from the darker side of J.R.R. Tolkien`s imagination, ” The Lay of Aotrou & Itroun” is an important non Middle-earth work to set alongside his other retellings of existing myth & legend, The Legend of Sigurd & Gudrun, The Fall of Arthur & The Story of Kullervo. The book is edited & introduced by Verlyn Flieger, &

Includes:: a new prefatory note on the text by Christopher Tolkien.

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It is fall, 2000 & Frank Bascombe has arrived at a state of optimistic pragmatism that he calls the Permanent Period of life. Epic mistakes have already been made, dreams downsized, & Frank reflects that now at least there are fewer opportunities left in life to get things wrong. But the tranquillity he anticipated is not to be. In fact, as Thanksgiving dinner with his children & first wife nears, the Permanent Period proves as full of possibility as life had ever been. In his third Frank Bascombe novel, Richard Ford contemplates the human character with wry precision. Graceful, expansive, filled with pathos but irresistibly funny, ” The Lay of the Land” is a modern American masterpiece. ...

Josh Dorfman, the author of STC`s hit ” The Lazy Environmentalist”, is back with ” The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget”. In a fun, casual style, ” The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget” informs readers about how to affordably embrace an environmentally responsible lifestyle. It offers advice for everyone including students heading off to college, recent graduates entering the workforce & adults at various phases of their lives who are interested in incorporating green products & services into their lives. Environmentally savvy products are now in kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms & living rooms. They`re the new paint on your walls & the contemporary rugs on your floors. They`re everything from your toothbrush to your laundry detergent to your flat-screen TV. They inform your life easily without compromise. ” The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget” builds on Dorfman`s first book by expanding the compendium of information & resources on a whole array of subjects for environmentally friendly living. With chapters on food, clothing, home, childcare, garden, health, travel & work, it is an informative but casual & accessible whole earth guide that will appeal to a very mainstream audience of enlightened but `environmentally lazy` readers. ...

In autumn 1857, Charles Dickens embarked on a sightseeing trip to Cumberland with his friend, the rising star of literature Wilkie Collins. Writing together, they reported their adventures for Dickens' periodical Household Words, producing a delightful meditation on the pleasures of bachelor bonding & an example of collaborative journalism at its best. The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices showcases both long-cherished & entirely novel sides of these well-loved men of letters. Boasting two ghost stories from undisputed masters of the genre, it also uniquely demonstrates their glee in caricaturing themselves & one another. Through their fictional counterparts, the men relentlessly satirise Dickens' maniacal energy & Collins' idleness. The result is an exuberant diary of a journey & a rare insight into one of literature's most famed & intriguing friendships. ...

Born out of a decade of discussion & collaboration between an international management consultant & the head of state & spiritual leader of Tibet, ” The Leader`s Way” is an inspiring manifesto for leading change which can have an impact at every level. To deal with the world`s economic & environmental problems requires a different kind of leadership which see things as they really are & understands the interconnectedness between companies & countries & the world as a whole. ” The Leader`s Way” contains not only fascinating anecdotes from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, including his meetings with Mao, but also a timely & powerful focus on the importance of combining an economic system with moral values. ...

The Leaping Hare is a rare & remarkable book about every aspect of the life & legend of the wild hare, exploring nature, poetry, folklore, history & art. A frequent feature in the mythology of many cultures, the hare has been linked with mystery & witchcraft throughout civilisation, & still today retains an air of enchantment. ...

A series of 10 educational posters for readers 2+, featuring concept & first word charts from leading Finnish artist Aino-Maija Metsola. Sold in a quality, oversized format, little ones can tear off each chart & post it up on their wall. Each poster is themed differently: Colours, Counting, Shapes, Opposites, The Four Seasons, Sea Creatures, Woodland Animals, African Animals, Pets, & Transport. Another offering in our Learning Garden series that also makes for great gift product. ...

In his first book, Hussien Dekmak opens the door to his country`s food & traditions with over 100 delicious, authentic recipes ...