An epic tale of Vladimir Putin`s path to power, as he emerged from obscurity to become one of the world`s most conflicted & important leaders. Former New York Times Moscow Bureau Chief Steven Lee Myers has followed Putin since well before the recent events in the Ukraine, & gives us the fullest & most engaging account available of his rise to power. A gripping, page-turning narrative about Russian power & prestige, the book depicts a cool & calculating leader with enormous ambition & few scruples. As the world struggles to confront a newly assertive Russia, the importance of understanding Putin has never been greater. Vladimir Putin rose out of Soviet deprivation to the pinnacle of influence in the new Russian nation. He came to office in 2000 as a reformer, cutting taxes & expanding property rights, bringing a measure of order & eventually prosperity to millions whose only experience of democracy in the early years following the Soviet collapse was instability, poverty & criminality. But soon Putin orchestrated the preservation of a new kind of authoritarianism, consolidating power, reasserting his country`s might, brutally crushing revolts & swiftly dispatching dissenters, even as he retained the support of many. ...

Updated since the decision to begin Turkey`s admission to the European Union. Turkey is a country in a state of flux, swept along by an extraordinary process of change. In the last few years, a series of far-reaching political & economic reforms has swept away much of the old order which ruled the country for so long. Some people call it a second Turkish revolution. But resistance to reform remains strong. Pressure for change has come from ordinary people fed up with the old ways; it`s also been motivated by the dominant issue of Turkish political life
- the long pursuit of membership of the European Union. & yet Turkey remains a mystery to many outsiders; a complex country hard to underst&. It`s secular & Muslim, Western & Eastern, democratic & authoritarian, all at the same time. This book examines the potential & the problems of the new Turkey, & the expectations of the people who live there, drawing on first hand interviews & observations gathered over several years.
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Our cities drive innovation & growth, but they also propel us into housing crises & give rise to ever-greater inequality, as the super-rich displace the well-off, & the workers who run our essential services are ghettoised & pushed out to the suburbs. There is a New Urban Crisis, & it is undermining the foundations of our society. In this bracingly original work of research & analysis, leading urbanist Richard Florida demonstrates how our cities are evolving in the twenty-first century, for good & for ill. From the world`s superstar metropolises to the urban slums of the developing world, he shows how the crisis touches all of us, & sets out how we can make our cities more inclusive, ensuring prosperity for all. ...

Veteran environmental journalist Fred Pearce used to think of invasive species as evil interlopers spoiling pristine `natural` ecosystems. Most conservationists would agree. But what if traditional ecology is wrong, & true environmentalists should be applauding the invaders? In The New Wild, Pearce goes on a journey to rediscover what conservation should really be about. He explores ecosystems from Pacific islands to the Australian outback to the Thames estuary, digs into the questionable costs of invader species, & reveals the outdated intellectual sources of our ideas about the balance of nature. Keeping out alien species looks increasingly flawed. The new ecologists looking afresh at how species interact in the wild believe we should celebrate the dynamism of alien species & the novel ecosystems they create. In an era of climate change & widespread ecological damage, we must find ways to help nature regenerate. Embracing the `new wild` is our best chance. ...

Veteran environmental journalist Fred Pearce used to think of invasive species as evil interlopers spoiling pristine `natural` ecosystems. Most conservationists would agree. But what if traditional ecology is wrong, & true environmentalists should be applauding the invaders? In The New Wild, Pearce goes on a journey to rediscover what conservation should really be about. He explores ecosystems from Pacific islands to the Australian outback to the Thames estuary, digs into the questionable costs of invader species, & reveals the outdated intellectual sources of our ideas about the balance of nature. Keeping out alien species looks increasingly flawed. The new ecologists looking afresh at how species interact in the wild believe we should celebrate the dynamism of alien species & the novel ecosystems they create. In an era of climate change & widespread ecological damage, we must find ways to help nature regenerate. Embracing the `new wild` is our best chance. ...

This lavishly illustrated coffee-table book is a unique tribute to the city that never sleeps. An introduction to New York`s roller-coaster history is followed by a close up look at its distinctive neighbourhoods. The iconic sites
- the Statue of Liberty, Broadway & Times Square, the Empire State Building, Central Park & the Met are all here, as are the city`s finest restaurants & legendary department stores. Breath-taking images, some in gatefold format, capture the essence of this remarkable city. Fascinating facts & a historical timeline bring to life the city`s past & present. An inspiring gift or the perfect souvenir for people of all ages.
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As a child growing up in Manhattan, William Helmreich played a game with his father called ” Last Stop.” They would pick a subway line, ride it to its final destination, & explore the neighborhood. Decades later, his love for exploring the city is as strong as ever. Putting his feet to the test, he decided that the only way to truly understand New York was to walk virtually every block of all five boroughs--an astonishing 6, 000 miles. His journey took him to every corner of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, & Staten Isl&. Helmreich spoke with hundreds of New Yorkers from every part of the globe & all walks of life. He finds that to be a New Yorker is to struggle to understand the place & to make a life that is as highly local as it is dynamically cosmopolitan. Truly unforgettable, The New York Nobody Knows will forever change how you view the world`s greatest city. ...

`superb... These thirty-two stories inhabit the Technicolor vernaculars of taxi drivers, barbers, paper pushers & society ...

Elizabeth Hardwick was one of America`s great postwar women of letters, celebrated as a novelist & an essayist. Until now, however, her slim but remarkable achievement as a writer of short stories has remained largely hidden, tucked away in the pages of the periodicals-such as Partisan Review, The New Yorker, & The New York Review of Books-in which her work originally appeared. This first collection of Hardwick`s short fiction reveals her brilliance as a stylist & as an observer of contemporary life. A young woman returns from New York to her childhood Kentucky home & discovers the world of difference within her. A girl`s boyfriend is not quite good enough, his ”silvery eyes, light & cool, revealing nothing except pure possibility, like a coin in h&.” A magazine editor`s life falls strangely to pieces after she loses both her husband & her job. Individual lives & the life of New York, the setting or backdrop for most of these stories, come to life in unexpected & lasting ways in Hardwick`s beautiful & razor- harp stories. ...

Whether it`s a languid day on the postcard-perfect bays of the Maldives, a swim to the tiny monastery island in Italy`s Lago d` Orta, or a chocolate tour of the Caribbean, dive in & share the discoveries of Beaches, Islands & Coasts. Part of TASCHEN`s Explorer series with The New York Times, this book tells the stories of 25 dream trips for curious minds, where the water is always only a pebble`s throw away. Motor past pink sands & bougainvillea in Bermuda with Andrew Mc Carthy, walk the rugged trail where Wales meets the sea with Dominique Browning, or skip Tuscany`s countryside in favor of its inviting coastline with Frank Bruni. The Times writers are your guides, & the wealth of color photographs that accompany their writing capture the soul-nourishing magic of places where the water rolls up to meet the l&. The Explorer series takes travel beyond the obvious with adventures in exotic places & new perspectives in familiar ones, all based on the distinguished travel journalism in The New York Times. Each journey features a first-person narrative & postcard-perfect photography that capture the unique personality of the destination-as well as practical information to help get you on your way. Edited by Barbara Irel&, whose 36 Hours travel series has been a TASCHEN best seller, the Explorer series launches with Beaches, Islands & Coasts & Mountains, Deserts & Plains. Upcoming volumes include Urban Adventures & Road, Rail & Trail. ...