The Sahara is the quintessence of isolation, epitomizing both remoteness & severity of environment unlike any other place on the face of the earth. Replete with myths & fictions, it is a wild l&, dotted with oases & camel trains trudging through sand dunes that roll like the waves on a sea, as far as the distant horizon. But this is just part of the picture. The largest desert in the world, the Sahara ranges from the river Nile running through Egypt & Sudan in the east, to the Atlantic coast from Morocco to Mauritania in the west; stretching from the Atlas Mountains & the shores of the Mediterranean in the north, to the fluid Sahelian fringe that delineates the desert in the south. Invaders & traders have come & gone for millennia, but the Sahara is also the place that some people call home. While larger than the continental United States, this vast area contains only three million people: Africans & Arabs, Berber & Bedu, Tuareg & Tebu. Eamonn Gearon explores the history, culture, & terrain of a place whose name is familiar to all, but known to few. Conquered & Cursed from the 50, 000-strong army of Cambyses, swallowed in a sandstorm in the sixth century BC, to the us marines first foreign engagement, in 1805; Hannibal & his elephants, Caesar against Anthony & Cleopatra, Alexander the Great, the armies of Islam, Napoleon, & Rommel versus Monty. Myths & Mysteries: from whales in the White desert to the arrival of camels in the Great Sand Sea; chariots of the gods & colonialists` motor-cars; from the Land of the dead to Timbuktu; salt & gold mines, fields of oil & gas & a man-made river. Artists, Writers & Filmmakers: from the ancient rock art of the Tassili frescoes to the modernism of Matisse & Klee; from Ibn Battuta to Paul Bowles; from Beau Geste`s French Foreign Legion to Star Wars. CONQUERED & CURSED: From the 50, 000-strong army of Cambyses, swallowed in a sandstorm in the Sixth century BC, to the US Marines first foreign engagement, in 1805, countless invaders have fought & died from the heart of the desert ”to the shores of Tripoli.” The legion of names

Includes:: Hannibal & his elephants, Caesar against Anthony & Cleopatra, Alexander the Great, the Armies of Islam, Napoleon, & Rommel versus Monty. MYTHS & MYSTERIES, from ANCIENT EMPIRES to MODERN NATIONS: From whales in the White Desert to the arrival of camels in the Great Sand Sea; from chariots of the gods to motor-cars of the colonialists; from the Land of the Dead to Timbuktu; mines of salt & gold, fields of oil & gas, & a Man-Made River. ARTISTS, WRITERS, & FILMMAKERS: From the ancient rock art of the Tassili frescoes to the modernist canvases of Matisse & Klee; From Ibn Battuta to Paul Bowles, via St. Augustine & Saint-Exupery; From Beau Geste`s French Foreign Legion to the inter-stellar Star Wars, via Ice Cold in Alex & The English Patient. The Sahara inspired them all.

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Sail with the experts! The Sailing Bible is the complete, user-friendly, hands-on manual packed with detailed step-by-step diagrams, lively action photos, & helpful advice on getting the most out of your sailing at whatever level. Whether you are a dinghy or yacht sailor just learning the basics or wanting tips on sailing with the best, this is the book that will give you all the answers you are looking for. It's all in here! Dinghies & yachts Cruising & racing Launching, helming, trapezing, & capsizing Racing techniques & tactics Buoyage, tides, charts & navigation Anchoring & marina berthing Knots, ropes & flags Boat etiquette & seamanship Rules of the road, safety & emergencies Boat maintenance & repair & much more... The Sailing Bible is an ideal companion to enjoyable sailing whether in a dinghy or a yacht. ...

Sail with the experts! The Sailing Bible is the complete, user-friendly, hands-on manual packed with detailed step-by-step diagrams, lively action photos, & helpful advice on getting the most out of your sailing at whatever level. Whether you are a dinghy or yacht sailor just learning the basics or wanting tips on sailing with the best, this is the book that will give you all the answers you are looking for. It`s all in here! Dinghies & yachts Cruising & racing Launching, helming, trapezing, & capsizing Racing techniques & tactics Buoyage, tides, charts & navigation Anchoring & marina berthing Knots, ropes & flags Boat etiquette & seamanship Rules of the road, safety & emergencies Boat maintenance & repair & much more... The Sailing Bible is an ideal companion to enjoyable sailing whether in a dinghy or a yacht. ...

The Sailing Handbook is the ideal guide for anyone who wants to get the most out of sailing. Brightly presented, clear & accessible, it is designed to teach the basics of sailing, increase your enjoyment of the sport, improve your technique, & ultimately, enable you to take part in professional competitions. Designed for easy reference, with over 500 colour photographs & explanatory illustrations, it presents clear & comprehensive guidance on the different parts of a boat * choosing a boat for pleasure & performance * how a boat sails * its fittings & equipment * how to anchor & pick up a mooring * handling ropes * navigating * understanding tides & buoyage * using radar * reading the weather * safety at sea * care & repair of the boat * buying, selling, chartering & insuring. The Sailing Handbook is ideal for novices of all ages. ...

Following on from the success of ` The Speckled People`, Hugo Hamilton`s new memoir recounts the summer he spent working at a local harbour in Irel&, at a time of tremendous fear & mistrust. Young Hugo longs to be released from the confused identity he has inherited from his German mother & Irish father, but the backdrop of his mother`s shame at the hands of Allied soldiers in the aftermath of the Second World War, along with his German cousin`s mysterious disappearance somewhere on the Irish West Coast & the spiralling troubles in the north, seems determined to trap him in history. In an attempt to break free of his past, Hugo rebels against his father`s strict & crusading regime & turns to the exciting new world of rock & roll, still a taboo subject in the family home. His job at the local harbour, rather than offering a welcome respite from his speckled world, entangles him in a bitter feud between two fishermen
- one Catholic, one Protestant. Hugo listens to the missing persons bulletins going out on the radio for his German cousin, & watches the unfolding harbour duel end in drowning before he can finally escape the ropes of history.
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First published in 1867, the Sailor's Word-Book is an incomparable alphabetical digest of nautical terms
- some 14, 000 in all.
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Le Noir, Sartine`s successor as Lieutenant General of Police, distrusts Le Floch. Monsieur de Saint-Florentin, the King`s new minister, entrusts Commissioner Le Floch with the investigation into the murder of a chambermaid whose throat was cut in unusual circumstances at Saint-Florentin`s home. His inquiry takes place both in Paris & Versailles, where he secures his position alongside the King & must confront the mysteries of the Trianon & the horrors of Bicetre. This fifth exciting adventure for Nicolas Le Floch has it all: serial crimes & a bizarre murder weapon, as well as debauchery, espionage, & the follies of a young court where ancient rivalries & grudges still linger. ...

Maigret`s past comes to life in this vivid new translation of this evocative novel, set in the Inspector`s home town. Book thirteen in the new Penguin Maigret series. Maigret savoured the sensations of his youth again: the cold, stinging eyes, frozen fingertips, an aftertaste of coffee. Then, stepping inside the church, a blast of heat, soft light; the smell of candles & incense. The last time Maigret went home to the village of his birth was for his father`s funeral. Now an anonymous note predicting a crime during All Souls` Day mass draws him back there, where troubling memories resurface & hidden vices are revealed. Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels. ” Compelling, remorseless, brilliant”. (John Gray). ” One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century... Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories”. (Guardian). ”A supreme writer.. .unforgettable vividness”. (Independent). Georges Simenon was born in Liege, Belgium, in 1903. Best known in Britain as the author of the Maigret books, his prolific output of over 400 novels & short stories have made him a household name in continental Europe. He died in 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerl&, where he had lived for the latter part of his life. ...

Set against the backdrop of war, revolution, & regicide, & moving from London to Venice, Mantua, Madrid, Paris & the Low Countries, Jerry Brotton's colourful & critically acclaimed book explores the formation & dispersal of King Charles I's art collection. Following a remarkable & unprecedented Parliamentary Act for ' The sale of the late king's goods', Cromwell's republican regime sold off nearly 2, 000 paintings, tapestries, statues & drawings in an attempt to settle the dead king's enormous debts & raise money for the Commonwealth's military forces. Brotton recreates the extraordinary circumstances of this sale, in which for the first time ordinary working people were able to handle & own works by the great masters. He also examines the abiding relationship between art & power, revealing how the current Royal Collection emerged from this turbulent period, & paints its own vivid & dramatic picture of one of the greatest lost collections in English history. A rip-roaring slice of seventeenth-century England.. . Readable history at its best
- Kate Mosse, author of Labyrinth.
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The Salmon People is a masterful history of Canada`s west coast. From the first people`s tales of salmon to BC`s first cannery, to overfishing & the environmental concerns that still exist today, this comprehensive early history is a must-read for anyone interested in how BC`s fishing industry reached where it is today. Told from the strong & witty voice of Hugh Wilford Mc Kervill, who once fished alongside the First Nations peoples of Bella Bella, The Salmon People is both an historically accurate account of the fishing industry & a salty buoyant memoir. In the author`s own words, ”so long as there fish surging from the sea there will be salmon people willing to brave the torments of nature to catch them, & the salmon will probably come forever.. .if man does not destroy them.” The Salmon People provides a colourful overview of the salmon fishing industry, especially the unique stories of some of the people involved, often found nowhere else. It also

Includes:: a passionate argument against fish farming & an examination of how we have seriously endangered the Pacific salmon.

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