The Prophet Muhammad is a hero for all mankind. In his lifetime he established a new religion, Islam; a new state, the first united Arabia; & a new literary language, the classical Arabic of the Qur`an, for the Qur`an is believed to be the word of God revealed to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. A generation after his death he would be acknowledged as the founder of a world empire & a new civilisation. Any one of these achievements would have been more than enough to permanently establish his genius. To our early twenty-first century minds, what is all the more astonishing is that he also managed to stay true to himself & retained to his last days the humility, courtesy & humanity that he had learned as an orphan shepherd boy in central Arabia. If one looks for a parallel example from Christendom, you would have to combine the Emperor Constantine with St Francis & St Paul, an awesome prospect. Barnaby Rogerson`s elegant biography not only looks directly at the life of the Prophet Muhammad, but beautifully evokes for western readers the Arabian world into which he was born in 570 AD. ...

Idealistic, misguided Morten Falck is a newly ordained priest sailing to Greenland in 1787 to convert the Inuit to the Danish church. A rugged outpost battered by harsh winters, Sukkertoppen is overshadowed by the threat of dissent; natives from neighboring villages have united to reject Danish rule & establish their own settlement atop Eternal Fjord. As Falck becomes involved with those in his care-his ambitious catechist, a lonely trader`s wife, & a fatalistic widow he comes to love-his faith & reputation are dangerously called into question. ...

Idealistic, misguided Morten Falck is a newly ordained priest sailing to Greenland in 1787 to convert the Inuit to the Danish church. A rugged outpost battered by harsh winters, Sukkertoppen is overshadowed by the threat of dissent; natives from neighboring villages have united to reject Danish rule & establish their own settlement atop Eternal Fjord. As Falck becomes involved with those in his care-his ambitious catechist, a lonely trader`s wife, & a fatalistic widow he comes to love-his faith & reputation are dangerously called into question. ...

Before there was Gonzo, there was just plain Hunter -- a precocious, earnest, & occasionally troublesome honor student in Louisville, Kentucky. Before there was Doctor Thompson, there was Airman Thompson -- the military`s answer to Grantland Rice, protecting America by covering sports for his Florida base`s newspaper. Before there was Fear & Loathing, there was Dow Jones -- that is, Thompson`s early reportage for that company`s National Observer, which raised the standard for hip & provocative foreign coverage. Before there was Rolling Stone, there were job applications everywhere -- in hopes of being hired by a paper, pretty much any paper, an obsession for the starving writer with expensive tastes in alcohol, nicotine, & room service. In The Proud Highway, readers will find a Hunter S. Thompson they`ve imagined but never known. With the publication of these extraordinary letters, written from the time of his high school graduation in 1955 through the triumph of his first book, Hell`s Angels, in 1966, critics & fans can finally trace the development & maturation of a singular talent, one of our era`s most important voices. How Thompson changed the face of contemporary nonfiction -- & of America itself -- is the mesmerizing story of The Proud Highway. ...

A special edition of The Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield reissued with a bright retro design to celebrate Pan`s 70th anniversary. The Provincial Lady should lead a charmed, upper-middle class life in her Devonshire village but with a husband reluctant to do anything but doze behind The Times, mischievous children & trying servants, it`s a challenge keeping up appearances on an inadequate income, particularly in front of the infuriating & haughty Lady Boxe. Delightfully witty, the Provincial Lady was the Bridget Jones of the 1930s, documenting the chaotic peculiarities of everyday life with wonderful wit & humour. This abridged edition takes the very best extracts from her first two `diaries` & presents them as one brilliantly comic novel. ...

From the author of ” Them & The Men Who Stare at Goats”, this is a book exploring the psychopath... This is a story about madness. It all starts when journalist Jon Ronson is contacted by a leading neurologist. She & several colleagues have recently received a cryptically puzzling book in the mail, & Jon is challenged to solve the mystery behind it. As he searches for the answer, Jon soon finds himself, unexpectedly, on an utterly compelling & often unbelievable adventure into the world of madness. Jon meets a Broadmoor inmate who swears he faked a mental disorder to get a lighter sentence but is now stuck there, with nobody believing he`s sane. He meets some of the people who catalogue mental illness, & those who vehemently oppose them. He meets the influential psychologist who developed the industry standard Psychopath Test & who is convinced that many important CEOs & politicians are in fact psychopaths. Jon learns from him how to ferret out these high-flying psychopaths &, armed with his new psychopath-spotting abilities, heads into the corridors of power... Combining Jon`s trademark humour, charm & investigative incision, ” The Psychopath Test” is a deeply honest book unearthing dangerous truths & asking serious questions about how we define normality in a world where we are increasingly judged by our maddest edges. ...

Pete Brown has visited hundreds of pubs across the UK & is uniquely placed to write about pubs that ooze atmosphere, whatever the reason, be it food, people, architecture, location or decor. The best pubs are those that always have a steady trade at any time on any day of the week, & where chat flows back & forth across the bar. They`re the places where you want to drink weak beer so you can have several pints & stay longer. Some are grand Victorian palaces, others ancient inns with stunning views across the hills. Some are ale shrines, others gastropubs (though they probably don`t call themselves that any more). A precious few are uniquely eccentric, the kinds of places that are just as likely to have terrible reviews on Trip Advisor as great ones, because some people don`t realize that the outside toilets, limp sandwiches on the bar & really disturbing full-size mannequin glaring at you from the corner are all part of the charm. This collection of 300 pubs with atmosphere will include 50 pub features & 250 smaller descriptions, alongside quirks of local history, pen portraits of punters or publicans, legends, yarns & myths, & case studies of different trends & types of pub. ...

Albert Savelkoul, the Public Prosecutor of Antwerp, has everything: power, money, magnificent horses, a family & a high-maintenance mistress. Despite problems with the mistress & his prostate he`s convinced that he is invincible, his power untouchable. & so it goes until everyone seems to turn on him. Albert`s wife, a member of the Belgian nobility, has set her sights on a title for her son. Opus Dei promises to help her if she transfers all her wealth to the secretive organisation. They stop at nothing in hounding Albert. A tale of blackmail & murder follows, leavened by Albert`s interludes with his loving Polish maid, sadly soon deported by the frigid uber-Catholic wife. ...

With over 250 nursery rhymes, including both well-known favourites & hidden gems, this collection has something for every child. Beautiful illustrated by Raymond Briggs, the much-loved creator of the Snowman, this revised edition of a famous classic first won the Kate Greenaway in 1966 & is now available again for a whole new generation. ...

Perfect to dip into, this beautifully illustrated collection brings together all the best-loved classics, selections from favourite books such as ” Peter Pan”, ” Treasure Island”, ” Mary Poppins” & ” Heidi”, & poems such as ” The Owl & the Pussy-cat” by Edward Lear, ” You Are Old, Father William” by Lewis Carroll & Rudyard Kipling`s ” If”. ...