Published to mark the final retreat of Western troops from Afghanistan, this book asks just how the might of NATO, with 48 countries & 140, 000 troops on the ground, not managed to defeat a group of religious students & farmers? How did it go so wrong? ` The Retreat` tells how the West turned success into defeat in the longest war fought by the United States in its history & by Britain since the Hundred Years War. It is the story of well-intentioned men & women going into a place they did not understand at all. & how, what had once been the right thing to do had become a conflict that everyone wanted to exit. It has been a fiasco which has left Afghanistan still one of the poorest & most dangerous nations on earth. The leading journalist on the region with unparalleled access to all key decision makers, Christina Lamb is the best-selling author of ` The Africa House` & `I Am Malala`, co-authored with Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai. This revelatory & personal account is her final analysis of the realities of Afghanistan, told unlike anyone before. ...

There is one serial killer who has shaped & defined police profiler Tony Hill`s life. One serial killer whose evil surpasses all others. One serial killer who has the power to chill him to the bone: Jacko Vance. & now Jacko is back in Tony`s life. Even more twisted & cunning than ever before, he is focused on wreaking revenge on Tony
- & DCI Carol Jordan
- for the years he has spent in prison. Tony doesn`t know when Jacko will strike, or where. All he knows is that Jacko will cause him to feel fear like he has never known before
- & devastate his life in ways he cannot imagine...


...

Beneath the majestic towers of the Alhambra, Granada`s cobbled streets resonate with music & secrets. Sonia Cameron knows nothing of the city`s shocking past; she is here to dance. But in a quiet cafe, a chance conversation & an intriguing collection of old photographs draw her into the extraordinary tale of Spain`s devastating civil war. Seventy years earlier, the cafe is home to the close-knit Ramirez family. In 1936, an army coup led by Franco shatters the country`s fragile peace, & in the heart of Granada the family witnesses the worst atrocities of conflict. Divided by politics & tragedy, everyone must take a side, fighting a personal battle as Spain rips itself apart. ...

A bracing assessment of U.S. foreign policy & world disorder over the past two decades, anchored by a major new Pentagon-commissioned essay about changing power dynamics among China, Eurasia, & America--from the renowned geopolitical analyst & bestselling author of The Revenge of Geography & The Coming Anarchy. In the late thirteenth century, Marco Polo began a decades-long trek from Venice to China. The strength of that Silk Road--the trade route between Europe & Asia--was a foundation of Kublai Khan`s sprawling empire. Now, in the early twenty-first century, the Chinese regime has proposed a l&-&-maritime Silk Road that duplicates exactly the route Marco Polo traveled. In the major lead essay, recently released by the Pentagon`s Office of Net Assessment, Robert D. Kaplan lays out a blueprint of the world`s changing power politics that recalls the late thirteenth century. As Europe fractures from changes in culture & migration, Eurasia coheres into a single conflict system. China is constructing a land bridge to Europe. Iran & India are trying to link the oil fields of Central Asia to the Indian Ocean. America`s ability to influence the power balance in Eurasia is declining. This is Kaplan`s first collection of essays since his classic The Coming Anarchy was published in 2000. Drawing on decades of firsthand experience as a foreign correspondent & military embed for The Atlantic, as well as encounters with preeminent realist thinkers, Kaplan outlines the timeless principles that should shape America`s role in a turbulent world: a respect for the limits of Western-style democracy; a delineation between American interests & American values; an awareness of the psychological toll of warfare; a projection of power via a strong navy; & more. From Kaplan`s immediate thoughts on President Trump (” On Foreign Policy, Donald Trump Is No Realist, ” 2016) to a frank examination of what will happen in the event of war with North Korea (” When North Korea Falls, ” 2006), The Return of Marco Polo`s World is a vigorous & honest reckoning with the difficult choices the United States will face in the years ahead. ...

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important & is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, & possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy & distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, & we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, & made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread & republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, & thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive & relevant. ...

Written by his trusted friend & companion, Dr John Watson, The Return of Sherlock Holmes: The Case Notes chronicles nine of the most fascinating cases solved by the world`s most famous detective. Based on the many notes & evidence gathered during the course of Sherlock Holmes`s investigations, this fantastic collection is painstakingly presented as a scrapbook by Dr Watson. In these pages, you`ll discover newspaper articles, sketches & maps that were crucial to solving the cases, with each item reproduced as a historical artefact, complete with tears, stains, foldmarks & insightful annotations written by Watson. Fifteen of these items are secured within special glassine ”evidence bags” for easy removal & careful study by the reader. ...

Concluding the story begun in The Hobbit, this is the final part of Tolkien`s epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings. Featuring a striking black cover based on Tolkien`s own design, the definitive text, & a detailed map of Middle-earth. The armies of the Dark Lord are massing as his evil shadow spreads ever wider. Men, Dwarves, Elves & Ents unite forces to do battle agains the Dark. Meanwhile, Frodo & Sam struggle further into Mordor in their heroic quest to destroy the One Ring. Impossible to describe in a few words, JRR Tolkien`s great work of imaginative fiction has been labelled both a heroic romance & a classic fantasy fiction. By turns comic & homely, epic & diabolic, the narrative moves through countless changes of scene & character in an imaginary world which is totally convincing in its detail. Tolkien created a vast new mythology in an invented world which has proved timeless in its appeal. ...

Even princes from faraway planets do not always remain small. Eventually they grow up &
- no longer content with their tiny planet
-

...